The Soul Within
by TheFlowerOfTheCourt
Summary: The blood protection inside of Harry blocked His killing curse and burned His host body to ashes, yet failed to stop His soul from entering his body? Oh wait, it didn't! Harry's blood protection fights against Voldemort's soul and something new is created...a new soul and companion. Harry thinks it is unfair that she doesn't have a body of her own...well he is going to change that!
1. Chapter 1

**AN: There were a few major problems I had with the plot in canon. First, why was Harry able to deflect a killing curse, burn Quirrell's body to ash, and be totally protected from Voldemort...but a piece of his soul could still enter Harry's body? Second, if Dumbledore knew that Voldemort wasn't dead and that Harry needed to be protected from remaining Death Eater's then why did he even let the story spread that it was Harry who defeated Voldemort. Both of these will be addressed in this story. My main goal is to branch out from the cliché plotlines that are overused, and use them as more of a background piece that is used only to reference where the story is at. There will be some canon events that play larger roles in this story however. I will try to work around any bashing while still pointing out the flaws of the characters and their decisions. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own or operate the world of Harry Potter, those rights belong to mainly JK Rowling. I am just playing in the sandbox.**

* * *

A man who called himself Voldemort stepped over the lifeless body of a beautiful young redhead and made his way over to the crib that held the figure who was prophesized to bring his downfall.

The small baby, who couldn't had been more than a few months older than a year, based on its size, was standing up inside of the crib holding onto the bars for support. The boy had jet black hair and bright piercing emerald green eyes that stared right back into the man's vivid crimson ones.

"You would have made a powerful wizard, I can feel the magic rolling off of you young one." The man said to the baby, his voice coming out soft and in a slight hiss. He knew that the child couldn't understand him, having not quite reached the age where he would retain memories, even if he was probably very close. "Sadly, you cannot be allowed to reach your potential. After all, only I can live forever."

The man raised a pale white wand and pointed it at the baby's forehead. "Goodbye, Harry Potter. Avada Kedavra!" A brilliant green flash of light erupted from the tip of his wand and shot out towards the green-eyed baby in front of him. With a smirk, the man knew that once his spell hit, according to the prophecy, he would be truly immortal. No man would ever be able to defeat him.

However, the smirk was wiped off of his face when his spell rebounded off of the child and returned back towards him at nearly double the speed. Before the man could even process what was happening his battered soul was being ripped from his body. His body, which was more ritual and blood magic than human, disintegrated leaving nothing but ashes, his cloak, and wand behind.

His Horcruxes were the only thing that kept his soulbound-self anchored to this world as he fled from the half-destroyed house as fast as he could. He could feel each individual one as they fought to keep him anchored to this world. Unknown to both the now fleeing spirit and the crying baby, a piece of the man's heavily damaged soul had splintered off as it was being ripped from its body. With the soul-piece's owner fleeing from the scene, the soul fragment set its sights on the only other living person in the room.

The shard made its way forcefully through the baby's forehead, carving out a lightning bolt shaped scar as it burrowed its way into the baby's skin. It began to try and take over its new host. Fortunately, for the second time tonight the small baby was underestimated.

The arcane, and also illegal, ritual that the boy's mother had done months before to ensure the survival of her beloved son was two-fold. She had known that the man would most likely try and kill her baby boy with the same killing curse that had just backfired only moments before. After all, it was the spell she had seen the monster cast to strike down many of her friends during the few times she had seen him in action. The spell was one that destroyed the soul that resided in the body and killing the host body without leaving behind a scratch.

This effect was different than the Dementor's kiss. The biggest difference being that a Dementor would suck out the host's soul, but not destroy it. This would allow the body to keep living, provided it was still being fed and watered. Of course eventually the body would die, but the soul would live on trapped and tortured by the Dementor, creating an eternal punishment to the victim.

The ritual that the boy's mother had used to save him was eerily similar to the ones that the now fleeing spirit had used to create his Horcruxes. In fact there was really only one difference between the two…the sacrifice. While the man's ritual was designed at cheating death, he had to steal life from another and offer an innocent life as payment. The mothers ritual was designed to protect life, she didn't have to steal the life of another but willingly give her own. The moment she had offered and he had taken her life in exchange for her sons, he had unknowingly activated the second phase of the ritual.

The moment the killing curse hit her and her soul was offered to death and destroyed, a blood protection was placed onto the baby that would always protect him from the one who had destroyed her soul. From then on it would recognize the magic of the caster and give absolute protection against it. There were only a few known ways to counteract the blood protection once completed.

As soon as the killing curse hit the baby the protection that was left in the boy's blood rebounded the curse back towards its caster, killing the man and saving the life of the child.

The moment that the small piece of the man's soul entered the baby's body and began to try and take over, the protection in the small boy's blood picked up on the threat and the two went to war. The magic of the man whose soul it belonged too was very strong, but the soul was also damaged. However, the protection in the baby wasn't strong enough to actually destroy the soul shard, but all was not lost. Knowing that it was fighting a losing battle, the blood protection made one last ditch effort to save its host from possession. Instead of trying to destroy the soul, the blood protection that was so full of love for the baby, decided to merge with the soul piece instead.

The soul shard tried to fight against it but it too was very weakened by this point and could not fight it off. The soul shard then tried to flee the infant, but the boy's protection latched onto it, not letting it go. The blood protection began to dig and worm its way into the heart of the soul shard; shredding, changing, and rebuilding it as it went. In the end the two had completely merged. The blood protection added to the damaged soul piece. While it would not be as healthy as a normal complete soul, it would at least not have the grotesque appearance that the original shard had.

The soul piece had changed and been rebuilt to increase its strengths and remove impurities, and would no longer belong to or be compatible as a Horcrux for its original owner. For the first time in history, a new soul had been created outside of natural child birth.

The love, left behind by his mother's blood protection, in the boy's blood had changed it during the creation of the new soul, took the best qualities of both the old soul shard and the blood protection of the boy's mother. This new soul still held the ruthlessness, power, and determination that its old owner used to have but it was now mixed with the mother's complete and undying love for the baby whose body it now shared. This new soul would always be there to love and care for the boy so long as it survived, and do whatever it took to see him be safe and become the best he could be.

The moment the new soul had been completed, the boy's body began to 'make room' for the additional life. The brain was a powerful tool, but one that is never used to its full potential. At any given time the human brain is only operating at one-third of its capabilities, as that is all that is needed to sustain itself and the daily functions of the human body. However, the brain, mixed with the child's magic, sensed the second mind occupying it and doubled the speed at which it was working in order to operate functionally. While the child would never have perfect memory or be able to complete any task without much thought, he would be advanced in comparison to the majority of people.

As the small boy was about to fall asleep from exhaustion, a rat faced man barged into the small nursery, not that the child would remember it. The man picked up an ash white stick from a pile of smoking robes on the floor before he fled the house.

As soon as the baby fell asleep, the new soul went into slumber as well where it would go unnoticed when the boy would be checked by a medical healer in just a few short hours.

* * *

A man appeared on the corner of Privet Drive, appearing so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground. A cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.

Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. This man's name was Albus Dumbledore.

Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome. He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at a cat sitting on a low hung wall, which was staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known."

He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop. He clicked it again, the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it.

"Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall."

He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled.

"How did you know it was me?" she asked.

"My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly. And besides, I have seen you often enough during your first class with the new first years to recognize you by now."

"You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day." Said Professor McGonagall, ignoring the second part of his comment.

"All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have been invited to a dozen feasts and parties before heading here."

Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily. "Oh yes, everyone's celebrating all right." She said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no…even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news." She jerked her head back at the Dursley's dark living room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls…shooting stars…Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent…I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense."

"You can't blame them." Dumbledore said gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years."

"I know that." Said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors."

She through a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really has gone Dumbledore?"

"It certainly seems that way for now." Said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?"

"A what?"

"A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of."

"No, thank you." Said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops. "As I say, even if You-Know-Who has gone…"

"My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense…for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his name: Voldemort." Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name.

"I know you haven't." said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, Voldemort, was frightened of."

"You flatter me." Said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have."

"Only because you're too…well…noble to use them."

"It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs."

Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls are nothing next to the rumors that are flying around. You know what everyone's saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?"

It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever 'everyone' was saying, she was not going to be happy until Dumbledore gave her an explanation. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer.

"What they're saying," She pressed on. "is that last night Voldemort turned up at Longbottom Manor. He went to find the Longbottoms. They're saying that he tried to kill the Longbottoms son, Neville…but he couldn't and that Voldemort's power somehow broke and that he is gone. I am curious as to why these are the rumors that are going around when you told me just this morning that it had been the Potters whose house he went too, and that young Harry was the one to defeat him!"

"Yes…" Dumbledore said sadly. "They are saying those things, because that is what I have told the ministry is what happened."

"Albus…I don't understand. If he is gone then what is the point in hiding the truth?" she asked.

Dumbledore sighed before removing his spectacles and rubbing the bridge of his nose, before replacing his spectacles back on his face. "Because I do not think he is truly gone…merely banished for now. Besides, we both know that the majority of his followers will likely worm their way out of Azkaban. Young Harry is more important than anyone can realize. For now there are only a very select few Death Eaters who know what truly happened as Voldemort kept this mission from even some of his most devoted followers. The three Lestranges and Barty Crouch Jr. were the only ones who knew that Voldemort went to the Potters last night, while they went to the Longbottoms and tortured poor Frank and Alice. All four have been captured and sentenced to life in Azkaban, but we both know that there are dozens more Death Eaters who would hunt young Harry down if they knew the truth."

Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said. "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?"

"Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me why you're here, of all places?"

"I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now."

"You don't mean…you can't mean the people who live here?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at Number four. "Dumbledore…you can't! I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son…I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here? Is it not enough that the poor boy won't even be recognized for his defeat of Voldemort, but you will banish him off to these Muggles?"

"My hands are tied on the matter." Dumbledore sighed once more. "If James and Lily had a will, I have been unable to locate it. You, as well as I, both know that the law says he must go to the next of kin. Besides, it is the best place for him," Dumbledore said firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter."

"A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people will never understand him!"

"I must not be seen interfering with his life if I want to avoid questions. Harry is yet but a baby, and it best if he is hidden away from the wizarding world until he has grown old enough to be able to defend himself. Surely his aunt and uncle will not treat the boy badly, they are after all his family."

Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes…yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?" she eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it.

"Hagrid's bringing him."

"You think it…wise…to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"

"I would trust Hagrid with my life." Said Dumbledore.

"I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place." Said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "But you can't pretend he's not careless."

"It would have been unsafe for him to floo or apparate while still so young, and besides…I had to prepare to place the wards that will protect him while he lives here…ah I believe that is him there!"

A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky. A huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.

If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so wild…long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in the leather boots were like baby dolphins. In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets.

"Hagrid!" said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?"

"Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir." Said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me last night. I've got him, sir."

"Perhaps a silencing charm for the trip home?" Dumbledore chuckled before turning serious once more. "No problems, were there?"

"No, sir…little tyke fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol."

Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.

"Is that where…?" whispered Professor McGonagall.

"Yes." Said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever."

"Couldn't you or Poppy do something about it, Dumbledore?"

"Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself over my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground. I did have Poppy scan it, however. While you can detect traces of Dark Magic that still linger in it, it appears that it is benign and non-threatening at this point. Well…give him here, Hagrid…we'd better get this over with."

Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Dursley's house.

"Could I…could I say goodbye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.

"Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall. "You'll wake the Muggles!"

"S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it…Lily an' James dead, an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles…"

"Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found out." Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and casting a spell over the basket to keep it warm in the chill November air. For a full five minutes afterwards, Dumbledore walked around the property waving around a stick he pulled from inside his robes, while walking around the house, muttering to himself.

Finally he came back to the other two and they stood looking at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out.

"Well." Said Dumbledore finally. "That's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."

"Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice. "I'll be takin' Sirius' bike back to Hogwarts. Don' figure he will be needing it no more after getting arrested today. G'night, Professor McGonagall…Professor Dumbledore, sir."

Wiping his streaming eyes on his leather jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a much quieter roar it rose into the air and off into the night.

"I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall." Said Dumbledore, nodding to her. "And remember, it is imperative that what you have learned here tonight remains between the two of us. The fate of the world may very well depend on it."

Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply.

Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out his silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four.

"Good luck, Harry." He murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.

A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing that he would never be celebrated for a victory that he was not given credit for, not knowing that he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next decade being used as nothing more than a slave and a punching bag by his aunt, uncle, and cousin…He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and celebrating not him, but saying in hushed voices: "To Neville Longbottom…the boy who lived!"

* * *

**AN: Just to explain where I am going with this in a little further detail. We know from the books that the Horcrux is damn near impossible to destroy but I could see the protection left by his mother manipulating it into something that would protect him, instead of hurt him. Of course for this story, the soul fragment no longer belongs to Voldemort, as it was changed by the protection to forge a new soul. I also wanted to change a few things that I thought should have been plainly obvious. If you wanted to protect someone who was invaluable to your entire future… keep it quiet, to protect Harry, that he was the one to defeat Voldemort. Dumbledore created way too many enemies needlessly for someone he wanted to keep safe. Hence using someone else to take the spotlight away from Harry. I also didn't want this to turn into a bash fic, even with how I am going to have Harry portrayed later in the fic, by having Dumbledore 'ignore the Potter's will', so I simply made it to where his hands were tied on the subject. Lastly, I never did understand why he would just leave a baby to freeze on a doorstep in November, so I added the warming charm! Just for reference, the only people who know that Harry is the real BWL and not Neville are Dumbledore, McGonagall, the three Lestranges, Barty Jr., and Pettigrew. Dumbledore doesn't know that Peter is alive, so he doesn't think about him knowing and Sirius only showed up to the house after Voldemort was 'killed'. He knows that Peter betrayed James and Lily, but not who attacked them. Five out of the last six listed are in jail and Dumbledore has no immediate fears of them being able to spread the truth, or indeed finding out that there was a switch in the first place, and Peter is believed dead/innocent. The Longbottoms were attacked on the same day as the Potter's in this story. I am not sure if it was ever truly explained in Canon how and why Voldemort's forces were able to find the Longbottoms, but in here we are going to assume they too were under a Fidelus Charm that Voldemort had been able to get the location from their secret keeper. I hope things are making sense so far, and that I haven't made anything too cliché…any questions or comments, please feel free to PM me about them or leave them in a review. Thanks for reading! P.S. This should be the longest AN that you guys will have to suffer through in the future. I would also like to give credit to JK Rowling for parts of the second half of the chapter. Some lines were straight from the book with major changes mixed in.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I have had a few people with some questions about the time-line, so I will put a quick update of how things went down in the last chapter...**

**Halloween night: Voldemort attacks harry while the Lestranges and Crouch Jr. attack the Longbottoms. Voldemort is destroyed by Harry while Dumbledore is responding to the attack on the Longbottoms. Hagrid rescues Harry from the house, meets Sirius and borrows his bike to deliver Harry to Hogwarts to meet Dumbledore. **

**During the day of November first: Sirius is arrested for 'betrayal of the potters' as well as the 'murder' of Pettigrew and 13 muggles. Harry is healed and checked out with Pomfrey while Dumbledore is dealing with the press and ministry in regards to his lie, and explaining 'what happened' to Voldemort. He also delivers Neville to his gran. **

**Night of November first: Dumbledore has Hagrid bring Harry from Hogwarts to meet him at Privet Drive to leave him with his aunt and uncle, as Dumbledore did not have the spare time during the day it would have taken to fly Harry there from Hogwarts.**

**I hope this helps clear a few things up, any further questions please feel free to ask.**

* * *

**Albus Dumbledore – (July 31****st****, 1991)**

Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his office staring out of his window. For the past few weeks he had been getting ready to send a professor to welcome Harry Potter. He had already sent Harry's acceptance letter a couple of days ago, and was wondering why he had yet to hear from him. Of course it was highly likely Harry didn't have an owl to send his reply back with, so his fear was quelled for the most part.

Arabella Figg, the squib he had moved to Privet Drive to keep an eye out for the boy, had informed him that she had seen nothing out of the ordinary over the years and that the few times she had babysat the boy he seemed healthy, despite a rather poor selection of clothing that he always seemed to be clothed in.

Dumbledore had worried for the past ten years about the Dursley's possibly freaking out and trying to hide Harry's heritage or mistreating him, as he knew Muggles were not usually the most appreciative of magic. Only a few actually hate it, most are just scared by it. He really wanted to send Hagrid to take him for his school things, as the half-giant was a friendly man and would help to make sure Harry stayed on the path of the light. However, he would have to send someone else as Hagrid would stick out sorely in that neighborhood as he was rather large.

'Perhaps I will have Minerva go and talk to him.' he thought to himself while popping a lemon colored candy into his mouth. 'She would be sure to try and drop a few hints about Gryffindor at the very least.' It wasn't as if he was wanting to manipulate the boy, he just feared what would befall Harry if he was to be sorted into Slytherin. He knew that most of the children of Voldemort's followers would be in Slytherin house, and should it ever come out that Harry was really the Boy-Who-Lived, it wouldn't be safe for the boy.

Albus immediately set out to write a note, which he handed to his beautiful crimson phoenix, Fawkes, to deliver to her.

While waiting for Minerva to arrive at his office, he started thinking about the other young boy who had been caught up in his scheming. He had been under a huge time constraint and an immense amount of pressure to find a way to protect Harry at all costs when Tom finally marked him as the child of prophecy.

Had he a bit more time to think on it, perhaps he could have done things differently. It wasn't that the boy was in constant danger. With Tom gone, most of his remaining death eaters had gone to ground. There were only a few random attacks on Longbottom Manor over the years, but nothing that had been or would be able to pass the wards. Even if Voldemort were to finally return to power, he knew that Neville wasn't the one to defeat him and would likely ignore him in favor of young Harry.

No, his biggest regret was for how his unearned fame had ruined the poor boy. Desperate to find relief from the unfortunate fate of Frank and Alice, Augusta paraded the boy around like he was the second coming of Merlin and it was inevitable that it would go to the poor boys head.

Albus had only met the child a few times in recent years and he already dreaded his coming to Hogwarts. He would of course try to steer him back down the correct path. 'It is only fair as it is just one of my many mistakes that broke him.' Albus thought wistfully.

A knock on his office door broke him from his thoughts as he answered Minerva's knock, ready to secure Harry's acceptance to Hogwarts as soon as possible.

* * *

**Harry's POV**

Most eleven year old's spend their summers outside playing with their friends, running around, laughing, and playing Hide & Seek. Of course I am not most eleven year old's.

Ever since I was old enough to reach over the counters, it has been my job to do all of the cooking, the cleaning, and yard work. Of course, if the food is even slightly burnt I get to skip that meal, if I miss one spec of dirt I get a few days in the cupboard without food, and if the yard work isn't "up to par" I get a reminder of how 'worthless the freak is' and locked in the cupboard without food.

Those are only the reasons I am punished for things I even have control over. Ever since I can remember there have always been strange things that seemed to happen around me. Weird things like my teacher's hair turning blue when he had called me a liar for telling him I didn't even know my own name. Once I had managed to suddenly appear on the roof of my school building when I had been chased by my cousin Dudley and his gang of bullies.

I have managed to regrown my hair overnight, make an ugly sweater shrink so small it wouldn't fit a doll, forget fitting me, dishes and glass trinkets have been known to explode when I was angry, and I have even made the lock on my cupboard unlock when I had gone extra-long without being let out, so I could eat. Of course, I don't really understand how I could have made these things happen, but I was punished for them regardless, so I may as well take the credit. Thankfully these occurrences are the only times Vernon deems me worthy of a 'good beating to knock the freakishness outta me', as he usually states it. No, normally it's the lack of food, getting locked in the cupboard, and shouting I have to put up with from him. Boy did Vernon love to shout.

I have never been able to have friends. Ever since I started going to school, and became "public knowledge" to the community, the Dursley's have spread enough lies to the community to make them believe I was a troublesome kid that should be avoided. While at school Dudley and his gang would beat up any kids who I tried to be friends with until everyone basically avoided me like the plague. Of course Dudley and his gang, unlike Vernon, took every opportunity to beat me they could find.

The Dursley's made it clear early on in my life that they hated me, and quite frankly that is fine by me because I grew to hate them even more. There was not really anything else they could do to me to make my life any worse. The only thing I had that held any meaning to me was, thankfully, the one thing they couldn't take away, not that they even knew she existed.

Ever since I was old enough to remember, she had always been inside my head. At first I just assumed she was imaginary, being so young what else would I believe? As we grew together through the years, I knew for certain that she was real...even if neither of us knew how she came to exist inside of my head.

She, like me, had no knowledge of her past. She knew nobody that could tell her from where she came from, and asking Petunia about them the first time led to the first time she had ever actually hit me...slapping me hard across the face for daring to ask about my real parents. After the second time asking, and receiving a whack on the head with the soapy frying pan in her hands, I finally gave up hope of ever finding out any more than their names and that my parents were supposedly drunks who died in a car crash. I am sure the only reason Petunia told me their names was just to keep me from bringing them up again.

When I had asked the girl in my head what her name was, like me at the time, she didn't know it. My name up until that point had still been Boy or Freak. I may have been only five at the time, but I admit I had cried when she said she wanted me to give her a name. I guess being used to being treated as less than dirt made me grateful to have someone who valued what I thought.

Even though we were both only kids, I thought that as nice as she had been to me she must have been the prettiest girl in the world, even if at the time I had thought all other girls were weird and creepy. So as the prettiest girl in the world, she had to have the prettiest name my five year old mind could come up with.

Being the house slave, it wasn't as if I was allowed to go with the Dursley's on their trips or actually explore past the neighborhood. I was, however, allowed...more like forced...to do the gardening. Even though it was hard work I still thought that the flowers were at least pretty. I knew that my mom was named Lily and I had overheard Petunia telling Dudley about how it was tradition for the girls in her family to be named after flowers.

The prettiest flower in my opinion were the violets that I had to tend to in the garden, and when I asked her about it she loved it. Of course, she had told me before that she would love any name that I thought would fit her. So from then on Violet and myself were inseparable...well at least figuratively as well as mentally.

Throughout the years she was the only one who would be there for me when I was locked away and hungry in my cupboard. When I lay crying in my cupboard, either from hunger pains or while nursing the mental bruises from the constant bombardment of insults, she was the one who constantly told me how special I was and that even if nobody else did she would always love me.

Even when my own family hated me, the other kids my own age teased me and beat me up for my poor clothing and glasses, and even the entire neighborhood scowled at me as I passed...not Violet. She was always complimenting me, telling me how amazing I was when I scored well in school, and telling me how much she loved me and that she would always be there for me.

In return, I would always tell her how important she was to me. How she was all that kept me from either going insane or killing half the neighborhood. I had even promised her that one day I would figure out how to give her a body of her own so that we can get revenge on the world and run away together. She always made sure that I did my best so that my future would be bright.

When I had first brought home an almost perfect report card, Vernon figured I had used my "freakishness", as he called it, to get it while also cheating Dudley and making him almost fail. That had been, at the time, the longest time in the cupboard I had received from him, namely the entire weekend. My first thought had been to score worse grades, but Violet had told me to still do my best and then she taught me how to hide my grades from Vernon.

Even as smart as I was, Violet was always just a bit smarter. Unlike most kids who would be jealous, I was thrilled as she was able to look after me and in turn teach me things, making me smarter as well. Since I was old enough to read we had taken to hanging out in the library. Sure the parks would have been more fun, but they always meant more beatings from my cousin and his friends.

I may have many doubts about life, but Violet's love for me will never be one of them. This I know for a fact. We may not be able to touch and hold each other, but sharing a body with someone else does have its advantages. We share each others thoughts and everything she knows, I know. Every emotion I have she can feel and every emotion she has I can feel. It sometimes makes me sad knowing that she has spent her entire existence caring for me. I've long since lost count of the times she has projected her love for me to cheer me up, but I will never doubt that she does indeed love me.

'How are you feeling?' she asked me softly, breaking me from my thoughts. She of course already knew as we shared the same mind, but we had long since learned to pretend we didn't know what the other was thinking or else we would never need to even talk.

'Hungry...' I told her tiredly. I was currently once again locked in my cupboard and haven't eaten in almost two days...all thanks to another "unsolved mystery" that is called my life. The Dursley's usually still make me do the cooking even when I am being punished, not this time for some reason. They must have been really pissed about something.

To make matters even worse, I had no idea what I had even done to piss them off this time. The only thing I knew was that it was related to the mail, as Vernon had been yelling about it increasingly for hours after throwing me in here.

'I'm sorry that I can't do anything to help you Harry.' Violet said to me sadly. I had told her a million times that she already did a thousand times more than anyone else and that I was more grateful to her than I could ever tell her. I guess this will just have to be a million and one times.

'You being here with me helps more than you know. I just don't want you to get too worked up over me. You know they will let me out of here eventually, they always do. One day we will get even with them. We just have to wait it out.' I told her, trying to calm her down. I hated to see her get upset. Sadly her emotions seemed to be tied to my health, so she was upset quite a bit thanks to a lot of people.

'I know, I know.' she huffed, having heard me say the same thing to her a hundred times in the past. 'It may be enough for you, but it will never be enough for me. They better hope I never get a body or I will torture them for the rest of my life!'

I couldn't help but chuckle at her. She wasn't an evil person…well at least I didn't think so. She was just protective of me is all. I've had to listen in through at least a hundred rants on her threatening to kill my aunt, uncle, and cousin. It wasn't as if I disagreed with her, they did deserve it in my mind…I just found it amusing to listen to her rant.

'One day you will have…' I was interrupted from my thoughts as Petunia pounded on my door and immediately started her screeching.

"Get up boy! You are starting to stink the house with your smell! You have fifteen minutes to shower and be back down here working on breakfast. You better not make a mess in the bathroom you hear me?"

I wanted to groan at her shrill voice, but I did not want to risk her changing her mind. For one, I really did need a shower as the smell was starting to get to even me. Second, I actually considered it a blessing to cook their meals as it was the only real chance I had at eating any good food.

Violet and I had long since figured out that if I wanted a good meal then I would have to get it when they weren't looking, and the only time they would even let me around their food was when they were hungry…it would be too much for them to actually have to cook for themselves when they could make the slave do it. Thankfully they would still make me do the cooking when I was locked in my cupboard, so I was usually able to still eat.

It was fortunate in some regards that my clothes were so big that I looked as if I were swimming in them. Vernon and Dudley ate so much food at each meal that I had to cook enormous amounts, and it was enough that they had never even caught onto the fact I had been skimming large amounts off of the top. Between that and being chased by Dudley's gang all the time, it would take care of any excess fat I could accumulate, I was actually in fairly good shape.

I wasn't short, but not super tall when it came to comparing myself with the other kids my age. I don't know if it was nature's way of keeping me from outgrowing my under-the-stairs prison, or if being short just ran in the family. If it did, it would have to be from my dad's side as Petunia was extremely tall for a woman and had the neck of a Giraffe to prove it. If I had some decent clothes and a new pair of glasses, I might not look half bad.

Knowing I would have to be quick, I hurried upstairs to the bathroom and made my way inside. I quickly turned on the water and began to strip out of my hand-me-downs. I had already set my "clean clothes" on the sink. It had taken quite a long time for me to not be shy about being naked, knowing that Violet would see everything I did. Of course it didn't help that she would "complement" me on my "looks" as I got older, and I have long since lost the ability to blush. I knew she only did it to make me feel better, as neither of us had even been close to finding the other sex attractive yet, but thankfully I was able to get over my nervousness a while ago.

'You know…' Violet cut in as I stepped into the shower. 'I didn't tell you earlier, as I didn't realize it had already been two days in the cupboard, but it's your birthday today! I just wanted to be the first to wish you happy birthday!'

'I doubt you had anything to worry about about being first Vi, nobody else is even going to say it so you kind of cheated.' I mentally laughed. Even if she hasn't, I have long since stopped caring that nobody else cared about me. It no longer bothered me that Violet was the only one who would wish me happy birthday or wish me merry Christmas. She always told me those things and it would always be enough for me.

'Ha..Ha..' she deadpanned. 'You know you're not funny right?' she asked.

I couldn't help but chuckle at her response. 'It's not like I know any jokes that you don't already know. It kind of makes it hard to surprise you with new material.' It was one of the downsides to our 'arrangement', but it's not like it isn't worth it a thousand times over.

'Well I know I can't get you a real gift so you are just stuck with me singing you the happy birthday song!' she pipped up and I let out a fake groan. I didn't actually hate her singing, it was actually very good in my extremely biased opinion, and I enjoyed it every time that she sang to me. Of course, even if she knew it already as she knew everything else about me, I still had to pretend so she didn't get a big head about it.

She finished just as I was getting out of the shower and started to dry myself off and get dressed. I blew her a mental kiss and made my way for the door, after dressing of course.

'Make sure you eat extra today for your birthday.' She told me as she pretended to catch the kiss.

'Yeah, yeah…thanks mum!' I joked at her sarcastically. I had learned long ago to hide my emotions from my face and body around other people, but I never would hide them from Violet and I always felt free to laugh and joke around with her. I used to have to hide it from her when I was sad so I wouldn't make her upset, but as time went on, and I stopped really caring if I had the approval of others or not, being sad or scared became a rare occurrence.

I passed a grumpy looking Vernon on my way to the kitchen. He was sitting at the dining room table and still appeared to be brooding over something. Thankfully the stove was tucked inside the wall that separated the kitchen from the dining room, so as usual he wouldn't notice me stealing food.

Breakfast had just finished, which I had been allotted two slices of toast and the smallest piece of ham, of course I had had my breakfast already before finishing the cooking, when the doorbell rang. Thankfully Petunia went to answer it as they didn't want me speaking to the public. I guess they really just didn't want people to ask questions about why I was dressed as a pauper.

"Yes?" I could hear Petunia answering primly when she opened the door. I couldn't hear what the other person at the door was saying, but I could barely hold back a smile as it had clearly pissed Petunia off if her screaming was anything to go by. "I WILL NOT HAVE YOUR FREAKISHNESS IN MY HOME! THE BOY IS NOT INTERSTED SO LEAVE AND DON'T COME BACK!"

I could hear the door slamming shut and a much firmer knock sounded at the door. This time Vernon, who had already rushed to his feet…well rushing for him anyways, had already started his 'march of the penguins' walk towards the door before throwing it open.

"MY WIFE HAS ALREADY TOLD YOU WE WILL NOT HAVE YOU FREAKS OR YOUR FREAKISHNESS…" that was as far as his shouting went, and I had to edge my way into the living room to see what could have possible shut the fat man up.

Standing at the door was a rather tall woman, with dark hair that was slightly peppered and tied up tight in a bun. She was, oddly enough, pointing a stick in Vernon's face and had a really pissed off look on her face. She was wearing some weird type of robes that I don't think had been popular in a few hundred years. She did appear quite intimidating, but I couldn't understand how Vernon could have possible been cowed by a mere stick.

"I am here to speak with Mr. Potter, and if you can't find the manners to behave then I suggest you keep quite!" the stern looking lady told him.

'Yeah you tell him!' I shouted in my head…that was until Violet laughingly pointed out to me exactly who she was here to see. "Wait...you're here to speak to me?" I blurted out stupidly as Violet's laughter picked up.

"That is correct Mr. Potter." The woman answered, ignoring the throbbing vein in Vernon's temple that I desperately hoped would finally burst. "I am Professor McGonagall, and I am here to give you your acceptance letter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"HE WILL NOT BE GOING I TELL YOU!" was a far as I heard Vernon yell before my brain completely cut out.

Magic. Was this really what was causing all of the strange things to happen around me? I desperately wanted to believe it was, but the years had taught me often enough that if it seemed too good to be true then it…well usually it led to a stay locked in the cupboard. If it was real however…there are so many things I could do. I could finally get revenge on my family. Hell I could even…Oh shit! 'Vi, if magic is real, I bet there has to be a way to get you a new body!' I told her truly excited for one of the very few times in my life, not counting Violet related things of course.

Of course, it seemed as if the professor had managed to shut Vernon up again as she was now trying to get my attention. "Mr. Potter, are you alright?" she asked, her nostrils flaring slightly at being ignored.

"Wha…oh yes sorry. So magic is real then?" I asked her, desperately hoping this wasn't all just some sort of sick joke.

"I assure you it is." She said as she turned the coffee table into a cat and back again. "As I said earlier, I am here to give you your acceptance letter; and if you accept it, then I shall take you to collect your school supplies.

It was all I could do to not rip the thick letter she was holding out to me from her hands. I quickly tore it open and began to read. It was rather straight forward, but I felt my heart start to drop once I found the second sheet of parchment that listed all of the things I would need to buy. I had no money and I knew that Vernon would rather have McGonagall's stick, or was it a wand, shoved up his arse before giving me any.

"I…I don't have any money to pay for any of these things." I told her, trying to keep the disappointment out of my voice. I already knew that the moment she left I was going to be getting it big time from a pissed off Vernon, he looked pissed enough that I might actually get the belt this time.

"I daresay you won't have to worry about that Mr. Potter." She smiled at me. "The children from most old families all have trust vaults created when they are born. On top of that, as the last of the Potter family, you will inherit the Potter family vault as well, and if rumor is to be believed it is a substantial amount. You will not be able to enter your family vault until you become of age however."

Trust vault! Family vault! Substantial amount! 'Vi did she just say that we are going to be rich?' I asked her stupidly causing her to laugh.

'Yes Harry, now pay attention!' Violet couldn't help but keep laughing at me being caught so off guard. It truly didn't happen very often.

"I accept, can we go now?" I asked the professor excitedly. If magic was real, I wanted to go now! There just had to be a way to use magic to give Violet a body and I wouldn't rest until I did. I would gladly kill everyone in this entire neighborhood if it was all that was keeping me from achieving it.

"Yes Mr. Potter, we can go now." She chuckled. "We shall be apparating to London so hold onto my arm tightly; it can be a bit uncomfortable the first few times so be warned."

* * *

_September 1__st__ 1991_

The past month had been the best of my life. Professor McGonagall escorted me around an all magical street called Diagon Alley. Our first stop had been to Gringotts, the goblin-run bank, where I was given the key to my trust vault. I had been skeptical about someone else having it. With how crappy my life had been so far, I was half suspecting someone to have robbed me blind as well.

While that still could be the case, Griphook had told me once we had gotten to the vault, that while the keys could be used by anyone to enter personal vaults, the family vaults could only be opened by the person with the head of house ring. Apparently each ring has a special portkey on it.

Unlike normal portkeys that are activated by a password or at a specific time, the head of house portkey's only activate when they are no longer receiving ambient magic from the person wearing it. So if the person dies or the ring is taken off of their finger, the ring portkey's itself back to that families account manager in Gringotts, minus the one wearing it of course. The Potter family ring has been sitting in the bank since my father was killed so I knew that nobody had at least been able to steal from my family vault.

When I had asked it turns out that the only gold taken from my personal vault had been my tuition costs for all seven years at Hogwarts. While I wasn't pleased someone had took it upon themselves to do it, it was at least something I no longer had to take care of myself.

After leaving from Gringotts I made my rounds around the alley. I picked up all of my supplies and a trunk. Professor McGonagall made it quite clear she would not be taking me to Knockturn Alley. It was really a blow as once she told me about it, I was sure that most of the books I would need to research for Violet would be down there and not in Diagon Alley.

I would have to wait until I could come back on my own and try to find what I needed. The stop at the bookstore, Flourish and Blott's, had been a long one as I had ended up browsing the shop until McGonagall had grown bored enough to move me along. I had already decided, from what little I had managed to worm out of her about the different subjects at Hogwarts, that I would need to seriously study Potions, Ancient Runes, and probably Charms. Of course I would have to learn how to defend myself if I was going to be spending time in the seedier parts of the wizarding shopping district.

Unfortunately Madam Malkin's did not cater towards non-wizard clothing, but I was able to buy the standard school robes and decided to treat myself to expensive day robes. I was told they were made from Acromantula silk…whatever an Acromantula was, I would have to look it up later. I was just happy to finally be able to own some nice clothes for a change, and I did not want to look like a beggar while at Hogwarts.

I was unable to locate anyone that sold contacts or anything to fix my eyes, but I was able to get an updated and more stylish pair of glasses that at least wouldn't make me look like a loser.

The longest stop of the day had been at the wand shop. Plain and simple, Mr. Ollivander was a creepy bastard. While he seemed to know his stuff, he seemed a bit too up close and personal for my taste. Although, it probably didn't help my case that I ended up with the brother wand to the man that had ordered my parents killed.

Earlier in the day McGonagall had treated me to lunch and I had been able to finally get some answers about my parents. Apparently on the same night that Voldemort had died, my parents were attacked and killed by followers of his. The three Lestranges and Barty Crouch Jr. had been caught shortly before they could kill me and all four sentenced to prison for life.

Once our trip to the alley had been finished and I was given my ticket, along with instructions on how to enter the platform from Mcgonagall, I was reluctantly back at Number 4. Thankfully the Dursley's already assumed I was a fearsome god-wizard or something, as I had been given my own room and basically ignored the rest of the summer.

I spent most of the last month reading. I went through a few background books on the wizarding world that gave a basic outline of how the wizarding world ran and who the prominent families were. I glossed over the parts about the wizarding politics as I really had no interest in it at eleven years old.

_Hogwarts, A History_ had been helpful in outlining the four houses at Hogwarts, including a basic description of what life inside of each house was like. There were a few different things that I would need to make sure happened if I was to accomplish my goal without drawing too much attention. I had almost regretted buying the expensive day robes thinking they would make me stand out. That was until Violet told me that I would probably stand out more wearing rags when I was supposed to be from a rich family.

I of course studied my school books as well. I had no real interest in the subjects like History, Herbology, and Astronomy. I would of course learn the material, but I knew that a large amount of the time spent outside of Muggle classes was just writing up homework assignments and a bit of extra study. I would make sure my homework grades were good enough to pass the classes but I would spend the majority of my free time working on giving Violet a body of her own.

I was sad to learn I wouldn't be able to take Ancient Runes until third year, so I would have to do that one on my own. Potions and Charms I would start first year, but like Runes they too would also receive a large amount of time being studied independently. Defense and Transfiguration would need to be studied as well, as they would be useful in life. They were not directly related to my goals and would take a slight back seat.

* * *

Finally, it had come the time to make my journey to Hogwarts. I was able to bribe Vernon, with a one ounce gold galleon, to take me to Kings Cross Station.

I made it King's Cross with plenty of time to spare and got my first look at Neville Longbottom, the Boy-Who-Lived. He was slightly pudgy with short brown hair. He was surrounded by fans and reporters and I could already tell that it had long since gone to his head.

I am pretty grateful that it was him and not me. There would be no way in hell I could learn half of the illegal shit I would need to learn with so many people watching my every move.

Deciding that I had enough of watching other people getting to say their teary-eyed goodbyes to their family, Violet and I made our way to the train. The first half of the train had already filled up so I took the first empty compartment I came too and closed the door.

I pulled out one of my books on potions and took a seat, getting ready for the long journey to Hogwarts.

It was only a couple of minutes after the train had pulled from the station when there was a knock at my door and it slid open. Standing outside of it were two girls. The one who had opened it had shoulder length brown hair and sea-green eyes. She was slender and fairly short, but had a friendly smile on her face.

Behind her was a blonde-haired girl whose hair hung low down her back. She was a few inches taller than the brunette, and had large pretty ice-blue eyes. Unlike the brunette however, she had no smile on her face...or any other emotion that I could tell. She was either unable to feel emotions or just had very good control over them.

I was torn from my observations when the brunette spoke to me. "Do you mind if we sit in here? Our trunks are kind of heavy to drag all the way to the empty compartments at the back of the train."

I didn't really mind having company, even if I was used to being alone most of the time, it wouldn't be smart to be rude to everyone I met. "Of course, would you like a hand with your luggage?"

'Such a charmer, huh Harry?' Violet teased me.

I mentally stuck my tongue out at her. 'Keep picking on me and I will start singing!' I threatened, knowing how bad I was at singing.

'Suuure...I bet your bluffing!'

'The itsy bitsy spiiider, went up the...' I started.

'Ok! I give, please no more!' I blew her a raspberry before concentrating back on the two girls in front of me.

"Yes, thanks! I'm Tracey Davis by the way, and this is Daphne Greengrass." she said pointing to the blonde behind her.

"Harry Potter." I said, giving them each a quick kiss on the knuckles just in case these two girls were purebloods...it was considered the gentlemanly thing to do after all. "It is a pleasure to meet you both." I added before helping them hoist their trunks into the overhead rack.

We all three settled back into our seats and spent most of the next hours reading quietly to ourselves. Funnily enough we all had grabbed Potions material to study. It was long after the city view outside of the windows had turned to lively green pastures that the brunette finally broke the silence, closing her book.

"So what house do you think you will be in at Hogwarts?" she asked. The blonde, Daphne, still had yet to say anything, but I noticed she was paying attention to my answer. Deciding it couldn't hurt to give her an answer I told her.

"Hopefully either Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. How about you two?" I countered.

"Our family has been mostly Slytherin for generations, so more than likely we will be sorted there." she answered.

I didn't get a chance to respond to her before Daphne actually spoke up. "Why would you want to be sorted into those two houses?" she asked. It was hard to tell if she was disgusted or just curious with as little emotion as she would show on her face, but I decided to answer her regardless.

"Well, I plan to learn as much about magic as I can while at Hogwarts, and I hear that Slytherin and Gryffindor spend half of their time in a private war between themselves. I don't see how you can get much done when you spend half your time fighting with another house. I don't really care where I am sorted outside of that fact." Of course that last part was a lie. I had already decided that I wanted to be sorted into Hufflepuff, but that decision and the reasons behind it were not something I was going to tell anybody.

The blonde looked thoughtful at my answer, but the brunette's face broke out with a smile. "With thinking like that, you will probably not get your wish you know. Slytherin is the house of the cunning after all."

I couldn't help but chuckle at her observations. "Well, then at least I get to see your two pretty faces on a daily basis!" I joked as Tracey blushed but smiled even brighter. Daphne's eyes widened slightly and I could just make out the faintest hint of pink on her cheeks but she showed no outward response other than that.

'See what did I tell you...such a charmer!' Violet laughed at me.

'Violeeeet! Why do you have to pick on me?' I fake pouted. She knew I loved it as much as she did though, and wasn't really fooled.

'Oh quit being a baby!' she laughed sticking her tongue out at me.

* * *

The rest of the train ride was spent with a mix of studying and talking with Daphne and Tracey. While I had no real plans to become the socialite of Hogwarts, these two didn't seem to be too bad and having a couple of people I was friendly with couldn't hurt too bad.

Tracey, it seemed, had the more outgoing personality of the two, and loved to joke around. When it come to Daphne, it turned out my second guess was most likely true. She did show emotions, one just had to pay very close attention to her in order to notice them. It was her eyes, more than her face, where you could tell what she was feeling.

The more I watched her the more curious she became. The more the three of us talked, I could tell it wasn't that she was trying to be an emotionless or cold person, it just seemed she somehow had a better control over her emotions than a normal person would. I decided to just ignore it for now, and perhaps ask about it in the future if we ever got to know each other better.

Before we knew it, the train was starting to slow down and an announcement was made that we would be at Hogwarts in five minutes. I gave the girls their privacy while they changed into their robes and they did the same for me.

I had to admit that the ride across the Black Lake had been special, as the castle really looked magnificent perched on its hill. It had been weird seeing ghosts for the first time, but looking back it should have been expected…we were dealing with the magical world after all. McGonagall had come, and after a brief speech, directed us to the great hall to be sorted.

Violet and I had already planned out our road to success. First step is getting sorted into Hufflepuff. This is also one of the most hazardous factors.

Being sorted in Hufflepuff offers me the discretion I would need, housemates not too curious about what your reading like the ones in Ravenclaw, so it is less likely of them finding out my secrets. Hufflepuff is known for the camaraderie between its members, and nobody ever gives a second look at Hufflepuff and I could play the polite orphan card, it would fit perfectly.

Slytherin would make my project go much faster, but it would create such a mess. I would be caught up in the Slytherin-Gryffindor rivalry, the same in reverse for the house of the lions, and Slytherin's were naturally nosy when it came to other peoples business. No, in Hufflepuff I could be forgotten by everyone.

The hard part of this step is that I have no idea how the sorting is done. If it is a series of questions, I should be good. If not…I will just have to improvise.

The second part of my plan is to find a way in and out of the castle, along with a way to sneak around undetected. My best guess on where I would need to look for the information I needed was in books on necromancy or dark rituals. Not only are they rare and highly illegal to own, but I am surely not going to find them in the Hogwarts library, and therefore will need a way to Knockturn Alley to find them.

This is going to be very hazardous in itself, but once in there I am sure I will be able to find something. Knockturn Alley is supposedly pretty huge and deep, it has multiple side alleys and you can easily get permanently lost in there. All manner of illegal stuff happens in Knockturn Alley, everybody knows it and the only reason Aurors never raid it is because a raid would result in a disaster. Aurors working in Knockturn Alley did so as undercover agents, so some sort of law was still present… but only half by the ministry and the other half was by the darker families who ran the shops.

Money is not going to be a problem, while I can't touch my family vault until I become a recognized adult, my trust vault still holds just north of ninety thousand galleons. That was quite a bit of money when you figure that even the teachers at Hogwarts only make around a thousand galleons per year.

My plan so far isn't much of a plan, but at least I have a small list of things to do so far. I will expand upon it as I learn more about magic and what is needed.

I feel good. I feel like I can definitely do this. Sure, there has never been any tangible proof of someone successfully bringing someone back from the dead, but Violet can talk so she has to be alive on some level. Besides, I at least know Necromancy is real to a certain degree if the tales of Voldemort using Inferi are anything to go by.

I am brought back to the present when a loud cheering announced the golden boy himself had been sorted into Gryffindor. I have already seen him get into a fight with a blonde boy who was sorted into Slytherin shortly after him. I will definitely stay away from those two houses as best I could. I don't want to get dragged into their little war.

Finally, a few minutes later, I hear my name being called to be sorted. Apparently all I have to do is put on some old hat…well here goes nothing.

'Good luck Harry.' I can hear Violet say in my head as the Hat slides down over my eyes.

'Let's see there…what do we have going on in your mind…oh dear! It seems you are not alone in there Mr. Potter! I must extend a hello to you as well dear Violet.' A voice spoke inside of my head.

Now I am starting to get worried. If this stupid hat can see inside my head then my plans would be ruined before they even took off.

'Don't worry about your secrets, Mr. Potter. Fortunately for you, I am bound by the magic that created me to keep quite on secrets I learn during the sorting. There are many secrets of the rich and powerful that they would kill to keep quiet, so you can understand how they would make sure I would keep them.' The voice spoke again, slightly decreasing my worry.

'Hello Mr. Hat.' Violet responded awkwardly. It was the first time she had ever had anyone other than me to speak too, and I could understand how weird it would be for her.

The hat had been quiet now for a while. 'Hello?' I asked in my head.

'Yes Harry, I was just thinking. You are a tricky one. One of the trickiest.' It paused again for a full minute. Neither Violet nor I said anything to interrupt it.

'A tragedy...quite a romantic tragedy, I might add. One that only comes around once in a blue moon. How one's own family could treat someone so horridly…your promise, your quest for her…' it sighed. 'What you're to accomplish is possible I believe, but it is a dark road. While it is not True Necromancy, the ultimate purpose of Necromancy, it is still knowledge known only to a few in our world.'

'I will do it! Somehow, I will find a way!' I mentally shouted at the hat. There is no way I am going to give up, and even if the knowledge is known by only one person I wouldn't stop until I found him.

'Maybe you will Harry, maybe you will. You're a powerful wizard, and a natural in the range of mind magic, from what I see here anyhow.' It sighted again. 'You will need it. There are those in the world who can take the knowledge straight from your mind unknowingly. You will need to defend your mind to accomplish such things Harry, as you will have to go into branches of magic that will make you an outlaw, a dark wizard as they call them now.'

'Don't play games, Hat. You've read my mind. You know that I would kill everybody in Britain if it means giving her a body!'

'But can I let you go down that slope? I know you have the potential of a great wizard, be it light or dark. But should I let you potentially destroy yourself and others in a quest that could very well be called foolish?'

'You're a fucking hat, why would you care?' I growled at him again. 'Nobody gave a damn about me when I was being beaten and used as a slave…nobody but her!'

'You are correct Harry, I don't. I don't care and that is why I should do my job and place you in Slytherin. How about it Harry?'

'You know what I want, what do you want?' I will bribe or even threaten the hat if I have to. There is no way I am going to let one of the easiest parts of my plan screw up now.

'I merely wanted to test you a bit. It is hard for me to find much pleasure as a hat you know. While I can read your mind, your emotions are a bit harder. With an extra presence within you, you are pretty good at defending your mind naturally. You should start with that on your quest, not only hats can read your mind in this castle…' it said mysteriously.

'Why are you telling me this? I thought you were bound to keep our secrets?' I ask imperiously.

The hat just chuckled. 'I am bound to keep the secrets I learn from within people's minds, Mr. Potter. However, if I sit on a shelf and observe, say for instance, a headmaster teaching his new Potions professor Occlumency lessons for months on end…well let's just say those aren't secrets I have to keep.'

It sounded as if that last part is a hint, so I will definitely be finding out all I can about Dumbledore and whoever the Potions teacher was. I also filed away the term Occlumency for later.

'Now, Mr. Potter. I'm going to sort you in Hufflepuff. I usually never do the whole "Undercover Slytherin" thing because every time a brat comes up with the idea, they have no actual reason to hide their Slytherin-ness and they are not smart enough to be sorted into Ravenclaw anyway. Funny thing is…you're the first one to ever ask for Hufflepuff.'

'But this is the exception that proves the rule…Don't disappoint me Harry, do what you have to do and stay true to yourself. You are not evil Harry, you have a good heart. Most importantly, if you succeed…take care of her. You are lucky to have her.'

'A bit corny there in the middle, but I appreciate the gesture.' I said cheekily, happy that the hat is more than your standard do-gooder and actually can see the importance of step one. Had I been sorted in Slytherin, I would have been labeled as dark instantly. I would have been monitored. Everybody would be suspicious of everything I did, that would never have worked.

"Hufflepuff!" the hat shouted finally. I took it off, and there was the usual polite clapping coming from the Hufflepuff table.

Taking a quick look at the other house tables, it seems as if nobody really cares to pay me any attention as they have already turned their eyes towards the group of unsorted students. 'Step one down…' I told Violet as I took my seat among the other Hufflepuff first years. 'many more to go.'

* * *

**AN: Updated April 7th, 2014  
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	3. Chapter 3

**AN: First time that i have ever been thankful for a complaint about my story. Someone complained about there not being a scene about Harry's train ride to Hogwarts and at first it confused the hell out of me as that scene was actually kind of important to a later plot in the story...I went back and noticed that it was indeed not there. Turns out it somehow was deleted when i was doing the editing process, but it has now since been added back into the story and anyone interested in reading it should check it out in Chapter 2. I have also changed the Dumbledore POV in the second chapter to third person. I am sorry but all Harry scenes will remain first person as I am using this story as a learning experience for me at writing first person. I will, however, keep it to just first person when it is from Harry's POV, all other POV's will be in third person.  
**

* * *

My first few weeks at Hogwarts had been slightly hectic. The first night we had made it back to the Hufflepuff common room, we were all greeted by our head of house, Pomona Sprout. She seems like a nice enough woman, slightly overweight but she has a friendly enough personality.

The boys have to share a dorm, as well as the girls. For the most part my roommates are alright. There are five of us, counting myself. I did manage to get the bed farthest from the door and had a wall on one side of me with Wayne Hopkins on the other. Zacharias Smith was on his other side, followed by Justin Finch-Fletchley and Ernie Macmillan.

Zacharias Smith had a twin sister, Sally, who was sorted in Hufflepuff as well. There were four others, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Megan Jones, and Lily Moon, that joined her in the first year female dorms. Zacharias was a bit full of himself in my opinion, but not to the level that it was going to let it irritate me.

I quickly learned of a small flaw in my plan...Hufflepuff tended to make sure they included their entire house and it makes finding alone time difficult. I have to do my class studying and homework with them if I expected any sense of privacy. Thankfully, while they asked questions, they were a bit too trusting and lying about my whereabouts actually quelled their curiosity.

It only took me a few trips to the library to find out that any books I would need, well the ones that would be available here at Hogwarts, would be in the Restricted Section of the library. I have no chance of getting a permission slip into there as a mere first year, so I would have to find a way to Knockturn Alley quicker than I originally thought. The majority of the books would probably be too dark to be found in Hogwarts anyhow.

Hogwarts was impossibly large and finding out who knew the most about its infinite layers was surprisingly easy. A fifth year prefect had told me about the Weasley twins, who were supposedly notorious pranksters and seemed to know more about the castle than anyone not named Filch.

'It actually makes a lot of sense that these two would be so knowledgeable about the castles secret passageways. They would have to be to get away with most of their pranks.' I told Violet as we sat in Potions. I was currently working on a boil-curing potion, while trying to avoid Snape's eyes. My first class in Potions had left me with a desperate need to get books on Occlumency as quick as I could, and had all but halted my search of illegal study material. I still needed to get a base footing in Potions, Charms, and Ancient Runes to begin with so I did have time.

Thankfully, Voilet had spent so much time in my head that she spotted someone else trying to enter my mind. While she could sense it, she wasn't trained on Occlumency either and did not know how to stop it. Thankfully, once I broke contract with Snape, he seemed to be unable to enter my mind.

'True, thankfully the Weasley's are a poor family so wave a bit of gold in their face and we should be able to get our answers.' Violet told me as she reminded me to add a counter-clockwise stir to my potion, turning it pale orange.

'That will help. It will cost us a pretty penny getting them to agree to an Unbreakable Vow to keep quiet that they have talked to me.' I had spent quite a few hours in the library trying to find out the magical ways to keep people from telling your secrets to the world. I had only found a few different ways.

The first were magical contracts, but they weren't easy to obtain and usually left a paper trail. There were special enchantments that had to be put onto the paper or item your contract was written on and those involved in the contract had to sign it, some contracts even required blood for it to be binding...it was far harder than option two.

The other way was much quicker, but the punishment was severely limited and much harsher. The Unbreakable Vow made sure that you kept to whatever your vow was or it would kill you if you broke it. The vow could be done with just two people, but people could have a third party to act as the binder, if they did not mind having a witness, as it left your complete concentration on what you were taking a vow on. It wouldn't do to get distracted performing the spell and agreeing to something you didn't want to agree on. Of course, people who didn't want any witnesses to their vow could do it themselves.

Finally class was over and I bottled up a sample of my potion and quickly packed my belongings, making my way out of the classroom. As I had for the last couple weeks, I set to searching the castle for the Weasley twins. I could probably approach them during one of the meals, but I did not want to attract any attention to myself. The twins weren't known pranking legends for nothing and I didn't want to be associated with them when questions started being asked about one of their pranks.

'Let's try the seventh floor.' Violet suggested to me. 'We know that they come from that direction for breakfast so we may catch them on their way to their common room.'

'It's as good a plan as any.' I told her as I quickly made my way out of the dungeons, hoping to catch them before they disappeared.'

Thankfully, I happened to spot them walking by themselves down the seventh floor corridor. "Weasley's!" I raised my voice, loud enough to get their attention but not attract others.

The pair stopped and turned around to face me. "Well what do we have here Gred?" asked one of them. "An ickle firsty seems to want to talk to us." I figured Gred wasn't his real name, but I didn't care anyhow. I needed their information, not their friendship.

"It does seem that way Forge!" the other twin said excitedly. "I wonder what it wants?"

Not listening to them ramble on and on, that was for sure. I decided to try and get this over as quick as possible. "I have a business proposition for the two of you if you have somewhere private to talk?" I asked the pair.

The twins shared a quick look with each other before turning a more serious face. "We have a few minutes...in here." the twin called Gred said opening the door to an unused classroom ushering me inside.

Once the door closed the other twin spoke up. "Now just what kind of business does a first year have that would be of interest to us?" he asked.

"I am in need of some information and I hear you two are the best people to provide me with what I need. I am willing to pay for this of course." I told them.

"You have our interest, how much are we talking about little Puff?" smiled the one called Forge.

"First I am offering twenty galleons for an unbreakable vow from the pair of you that you will never tell anyone about this meeting or our conversation." I didn't want them to turn down my offer and then go squealing that I was searching for a way out of the castle.

The twins dropped all pretenses of playfulness. "Do we have to accept what you ask?" one of the asked.

"Not at all."

"Offer taken then." the two clasped their hands and performed the unbreakable vow, I could have done it myself but there was no need to show that I knew how when it was unnecessary. Once the ribbons had disappeared into their forearms I relaxed...just slightly.

I placed twenty galleons from my money pouch and into their hands. "I need a secret passage out of the castle and a way into Diagon Alley that nobody knows about...I'll pay fifty galleons."

They looked at each other.

"Hmm...fifty galleons...it is quite a lot."

"Indeed it is Gred, but this piece of information isn't exactly cheap is it?"

"Oh, since there is only one secret passage like this, it would absolutely not be cheap." Gred acquiesced, smiling even more widely while nodding his head. "A hundred galleons and the info is yours."

"We will even promise to not tell anyone about the passage after you."

I already knew they would likely not accept my first offer...after all only a fool would.

'A hundred galleons isn't exactly a small amount of gold Harry.'

'I know Vi, but your worth a hundred billion galleons, not that I have it of course, and this information is crucial.' while a hundred galleons was quite a bit of money, it wasn't even a drop in the bucket to me and I would have gladly gave it all way to give Violet a body.

"Okay, a hundred it is but how do you know that no one else knows of it?" It wasn't vital to me, but still very important. I wouldn't want to run into someone while going out of the castle.

Gred whispered something in his twin's ear and he nodded. "We own a map. A map that shows some secret passages. Nobody else has that map since it is a unique artifact. Also, we have been using this particular passage for a while now and we have never encountered anyone."

"Furthermore, the map is some sort of...monitoring system. If someone knew this passage, we would know it, trust us."

'Monitoring system and secret passages? Sounds like it could be useful, what do you think?' I asked Violet.

'It would certainly make moving around the castle much easier.'

"How much for the map? I can pay really big." I asked, sensing the incredible opportunity.

"Ahh, tut tut tut little Puff. The map isn't for sale, but we will keep you in mind if that changes." Mocked Forge patronizingly, throwing his arm around my shoulders. "Now for the passage...do we have a deal?"

"We do. A hundred galleons and a promise to never tell anyone about it." They were already under the Vow so I let my face and tone darken. "I am not playing guys, if I meet anybody in there I will know you sold the information and I will not be happy about it."

"Business is business young Puff, never fear."

"Quite the Hufflepuff personality you have there firsty." Gred said sarcastically, looking suspiciously at me. "We're under the Vow anyway so...why do you need to get to Diagon Alley so bad?" he asked curiously.

"Thank you, and none of your business." There was no way in hell I was going to tell him that information. "Now lads, if you will excuse me, I don't have all day." I retorted cheerfully before dumping a large portion of the gold that was remaining in my pouch. I would need to refill it later but I had several more pouches full in my trunk so as to not need the bank so often.

Gred took the gold and started counting it while Forge took out a piece of parchment and started writing all of the details on how to get to and use the secret passage.

"You've got to understand, Diagon Alley is way too far to get there on foot. So the passage we're giving to you leads to a shop's basement in Hogsmeade. You will have to floo from there. The shop's wards won't be tripped since you come from within, but the owners sleep there, so you will have to be cautious to not wake them up. You will have to fly or take another floo back to Hogsmeade from Diagon Alley. Just remember people will ask questions if they see a firsty hanging around Hogsmeade. You will also need your own floo powder, as only places with a public floo keep theirs on the mantle." explained Gred.

"The walk is around forty five minutes to an hour, your choice to use a broom or not, but we don't recommend it. We had a little...misadventure. The path is quite sinuous." finished Forge, handing me the piece of parchment.

I folded it and slipped it on my pocket.

"Pleasure doing business with you, gentlemen. Goodbye." I had it. Now to plan my first visit to Knockturn Alley. You don't just walk into a place like that.

"Our pleasure ickle firsty, our pleasure. Come back any time!" the twins called out to me as I left them and made my way back to the dungeons.

* * *

Knockturn Alley was dangerous, I couldn't go in there with my eleven year old face and weak body. Only the purebloods could do that, those that everybody knew better than to hurt. I wasn't one of those children. I would need some way to defend myself and an aging potion. I didn't quite know how the ministry was able to track underage magic so I would have to find a means of protection that wasn't my wand until I did.

Aging potions weren't illegal, but were dangerous if not brewed properly. There were also warnings about using them too young, as it was said to mess with the body's growth. I didn't know if they meant physical or emotional, but I didn't really care at this point.

'If it fucks my growth up a bit then so be it. I'm not about to hesitate for something so trivial.'

'Just please be careful Harry!' Violet told me worriedly. 'I don't want you hurting yourself over me.'

'Don't worry Vi...I'm sure if anything it will just stunt my growth or something and I will grow up a few inches shorter...or hit puberty early. If it was life threatening it would be restricted against use.'

I made it back to my room and took a seat at my desk, taking out a piece of parchment to make a list of things I would need. I would need aging potion to disguise myself while out, floo powder to get to Diagon Alley, a broom to fly back from London to Hogsmeade in case I couldn't find a floo back, and a way to find Hogsmeade from London on said broom.

'Anything else you can think of Vi?'

'Not anything off of the top of your head.' Violet told me with a laugh. It was a joke that I had heard from her a dozen times before, but I still chuckled anyhow. 'Well…I may have an idea on how to defend yourself down there.

'Oho? Do tell, dear Watson!' I told her with fake pompousness.

'Well…if you can't use magic without running the risk of getting caught, you need to just make it so that you don't need to use magic.' Seeing that I wasn't yet catching on she continued. 'You have to pretend to be someone that nobody will want to mess with. I say we find a snake and some dark clothing and let people think you are a dark wizard. Voldemort was the last known Parselmouth in England and people always equate the ability to dark wizards only. If people just happen to think you could be related someway to Voldemort then all the better.'

'Beauty and brains! I am too lucky.' I told her with a fake sigh, while wiping away a non-existent tear.

Violet gave me a mental slap on the back of my head. 'I don't even look like anything so how can I be beautiful prat.'

'Well in my dreams you are always beautiful.' I told her cheekily. 'You have these big Amethyst colored doe eyes that stares dreamily at me.'

'I do not stare dreamily! Besides, the only eyes I get to stare out of are yours…maybe you have just been dreaming about your eyes and not mine. I hope you aren't turning into a copy of Malfoy?' she laughed even though I knew she was touched by my words.

'Me turn into Malfoy? I believe I might be offended.' I scoffed. 'I swear, as much as he and Longbottom go back and forth I have no idea how he got into Slytherin. Not an ounce of cunning in him. Honestly, who attacks someone to their face and thinks they are being cunning.'

'Yes, I agree with you on that one. And don't worry, I would never think you are anything close to Malfoy…he is much better looking.'

'Haha…' I deadpanned as I could feel her almost gag at the thought of her finding Malfoy attractive. 'Perhaps I will put you inside of his head instead then.'

'You wouldn't do that to me would you Harry?' she said trying to sound worried, knowing that I wouldn't really ever get rid of her like that. 'I will be good, promise…you are the most handsome and manly guy ever!'

'Of course I won't. But you should be careful…you almost sounded like Granger sucking up to the professors. Don't want to be known as a teacher's pet now do you?' I teased her.

'If you are the teacher, I would be your pet.' She fluttered her non-existent eyebrows. 'You gonna give me a detention Professor Manly?'

'Pervert…I knew I shouldn't have let you talk me into reading those romance novels.' I said exasperatedly.

She burst out laughing. 'I know you secretly enjoyed them! You can't hide it from me!'

'Yeah, yeah…time for me to get back to work. Not like I am going to win this argument anyhow.'

'Exactly! I'm glad to see you finally learning...but you are right, we do have plenty to do.' She said being serious again. 'There are several spells we need to find in the library and then learn them before we can go.'

'Perhaps I can find an older student to help tutor me if I'm lucky.'

It was the first weekend of November when I finally had everything ready for my first trip to Knockturn Alley. I had been spending every available moment of my free time preparing for this.

My aging potion was brewed, and if my dosage was calculated correctly, it would last me just long enough for me to get back into the tunnel back to Hogwarts. I had sent off and received an order of floo powder from mail order, using a school owl. I didn't have a broom of my own yet, but I managed to pilfer one of the crap ones we had to use for our flying lessons.

It had taken me almost a week to learn how to cast and operate a tracking charm. I quickly learned that after casting the spell it was smart to not anchor it to yourself. Unless your mind was trained enough to ignore the constant flow of information regarding the location of your target, it was best anchored to an item.

I eventually decided to anchor the spell to a compass and I would just use it to direct my way back to my target, which would be a random item in Hogsmeade. I could have used anything, but I was more familiar with a compass and roughly knew how to use one already. It made 'listening' to the location of the tracking charm much easier when you only had to follow the direction of a needle.

I had made it through three books on snakes and reptiles before I finally found a way to get a snake. True I could have bought one at the pet store in Diagon Alley, but that would raise questions. I could have tried to find one roaming randomly around the grounds or the forbidden forest, but I had already learned how big of a waste just aimlessly searching for something was from my search of the Weasley twins all those weeks ago.

It was in the third book, the one that was admittedly the most interesting…after all, who knew that such things as a Basilisk even existed, too bad the book didn't say how to find one of those, that I found the spell I was looking for. It was a summoning spell specifically designed to summon snakes. _Serpensortia_ didn't have the power to summon a magical snake, as it wasn't a very complex spell, but it was enough to summon a snake large enough to do what I needed done.

I had even gone a step farther and learned a simple glamor charm that would make my eyes give off a faint red glow from behind the hood of my cloak. I wasn't actively trying to impersonate Voldemort…but if a few extra people thought I was then I wasn't going to complain.

I had wanted to make this trip sooner, but that damn troll getting into the castle on Halloween made that impossible…especially with that Granger girl almost earning herself an early grave. Somehow she, Weasley, and Longbottom managed to survive…shame really, but even so the teachers had been keeping close watch on everything going on and I've had to wait it out. I wasn't sure if Longbottom even cared for the girl, I had seen Weasley teasing her mercilessly, or if he was just seeking extra fame. The three had been almost insuperable since then, so perhaps Longbottom wasn't too far gone as I had first believed.

It was Violet who pointed out that I didn't actually know anything about Knockturn Alley, or its layout, so I had to find someone to ask about it. I knew it was risky as it would likely only be a Slytherin who knew much about it. I decided to ask one of the seventh years, as they would at least only be around this year to hold the information over my head.

I had decided to wait in the dungeons for seventh year potions to end in hopes of catching one of them on their own. Thankfully, my year had the last period of the day off, which was when their potions class was being held. It was just my luck that Ernie and Justin happened to spot me about five minutes before their class was due to let out.

"Hey Harry. What are you hanging around out here for?" Justin asked me as the two walked over to me.

"I am waiting for Potions to end. I need to ask Professor Snape about a potions text I am looking for." I lied smoothly. I could see them both wince at the prospect of me speaking to Snape on my own. It was obvious the man held a grudge against me, and speaking to him in classes was bad enough.

"You sure that's wise Harry." Ernie replied with a grin. "Sometimes I think he wants to kill you with those looks of his in class...imagine if he got you alone." I laughed at his joke, hoping that they would move along before then so I could do what I really needed to do.

"Well, you two are more than welcome to join me in there with him." I grinned at the two boys, knowing the idea of seeing Snape would hopefully make them move along. "I'm sure he would be much happier with a triple murder than having to settle for just one."

Just then the door to the Potions class opened and the seventh year students began to file out. There weren't very many in the class and over half of them for from Slytherin's house.

"Well Harry...Uhm good luck!" Justin said taking off the opposite direction.

"Yeah, wouldn't want Snape to see me down here either. Later Harry!" Ernie too took off in the same direction of Justin, towards the Hufflepuff common room. Who would have thought that Snape would have been useful for something after all.

'We could use him for troll food.' Violet said with a straight face. 'I'm sure Granger would find some use in that.'

'Probably end up killing the poor beast.' Violet snorted at me. 'Then again...he has enough grease in his hair that he should slide down the troll's throat with no problems.'

Violet couldn't hold back her snort at that comment. Snape had taken to small insults towards me during classes, and would even mark my grades slightly lower than they should be. Let's just say Violet was not his biggest fan. 'Harry, there goes one by himself. We should follow him.' she said pointing out one of the Slytherin's who had branched off from the class, headed in his own direction.

I decided to follow him until I spotted a location where I could talk to him in private. Violet was growing slightly worried that he might just decide to attack me on principal. I wasn't too worried...he probably wouldn't expect a first year to know much this early on into his first year. Granted I hadn't learned more than a few useful combat spells, but I did know the _Petrificus Totalis_ spell, and I was sure I could catch him off guard with it.

It was common sense to me, of course Violet and I had noticed a sever lack of it in the wizarding world, that speed was just as important as the spells you knew in a fight. Your opponent can know any spell he wants, but if you are faster than he is and can hit him with just a simple body bind, you can render him useless until the spell is broken.

It was one of the very few times I was thankful for Dudley and his gang. I had probably done more running than anyone in my school by the time I had left for Hogwarts. This had given me incredible stamina to go along with lightning quick reflexes. I would of course learn all the spells and different magic I could, but I would definitely be on the lookout to increase my speed, stamina, and accuracy in the future.

I cursed myself for getting lost in my thoughts, as it seemed the seventh year I had been following must have noticed he was being followed. I assume he noticed, seeing as he had stopped and turned to look right at me.

"You following me firsty?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at me. "That's not the smartest of things to do you know...sneaking around...following people."

I knew he was just trying to intimidate me. Even if he was going to attack me, I had taken worse beatings from Dudley's gang. I wasn't going to show any weakness to him and I pulled myself up straighter before responding.

"I have a small request. Would you be interested in hearing it?" I started carefully, I didn't even know if he would listen to me.

"I'm listening, Mr..."

"Potter." I finished his question.

"Avery, Daryl Avery. So what request could you possibly have for me Mr. Potter?"

"I need some information on Knockturn Alley. I need good addresses on where to find books and rare items, tips on how not to get robbed and all that jazz. I am willing to part with a few galleons for this information...and your silence. Will you help me?" I knew it was pointless to even ask for any type of vow or contract to keep silent. For one he was Slytherin and wouldn't have done it. Two, as a Slytherin he was more likely to use the information to get favors out of me than to tell a professor.

He looked at me, but I refused to make direct eye contact...just in case reading minds was common in Slytherin house. He just chuckled before responding. "Knockturn Alley isn't that dangerous, Potter. As long as you don't venture too deep into its bowels." he watched me a bit more before asking. "What is it that you're looking for exactly, Potter?"

"Books...knowledge." I said intentionally being vague. While I had to put more knowledge out there than I was truthfully comfortable with, there was no way in hell I was actually going to tell him what I was up too. "Do we have a deal?"

"Very well, I will even do this one for free, Potter. Why? Because you intrigue me and my family has plenty of gold and I don't need anything you could give me. So go on and ask your questions, I have somewhere to be in twenty minutes."

'Figures he would do it for free.' I told Violet. 'I guess now he will feel as if I owe him a future favor.'

'Very true.' she responded. 'At least we are getting the information we need I guess. I just hope he never has need to call in his favor.'

'Yeah, no kidding.' I chuckled as I set to asking all of the pertinent questions I would need to know for my future shopping trip. It took about fifteen minutes, but I felt like I had enough information to at least get by. The rest I was sure I would learn on the fly once I got there and explored a bit.

* * *

I decided to make my move as soon as curfew started on the first Friday night of November. Hardly anybody would be outside of their dorms past ten, so I knew I would likely not meet anybody on my way to the secret passage other than potentially a prefect. The third floor however was usually left abandoned for the most part since part of it became restricted.

I dressed in my dark robes, hood down for now; I would change into my entire disguise once in the secret passage. I quickly made my way to the third floor where the instructions I received said that the statue of Gunhilda of Gorsemoor, more commonly known as the one-eyed witch statue, was located. Looking down the hall I could see the door that lead to the forbidden corridor that we had been warned against entering during the welcoming feast.

I stepped in front of the statue and whispered the password, _Dissendium_, and watched as the hump opened up to reveal a chute that led below. I quickly slid my feet in first and pushed off, sliding down a few feet before I slid out into a small dark cavern.

'Best to finish your disguise here.' Violet told me as I stood up and brushed myself off. 'Once we leave the school the ministry will likely be able to detect your magic, and we don't exactly know how the Trace works yet.'

I pulled out my wand and pulled up my hood. I quickly concentrated while casting the glamor charm that would give my eyes that slight red glow. The charm wasn't terribly hard, but the more you wanted to change the harder it became. It wasn't particularly easy to change facial features and make the changes look real. It took a certain degree of artistry.

"Serpensortia!" I intoned quietly as a six-foot boa constrictor shot from my wand and landed on the rough floor with a soft thud.

Daryl Avery may have not needed the money, but he did point me to someone who did. Alyssa Urquhart was the sixth year female prefect in Ravenclaw. While she was from a pureblood family and wasn't poor, they were still far from rich as her house wasn't near as old as some of her peers. She had been willing to tutor me in the spells I had needed in the last couple weeks. I had to triple the costs she wanted to charge for each spell she taught me, but surprisingly I was able to get her to agree to make a vow to keep it quiet that I was learning from her.

{Who dares summon me?} The snake hissed.

{I did mighty serpent.} I told the snake drawing his attention to me.

{A human speaker? Tell me speaker, what is it you have called me for?}

{I am headed to a dangerous place and I need you to keep people from approaching me. Speaking to snakes is considered dark and evil to humans and if people hear me talking to you they will leave me alone. Will you join me on my journey?} I asked the snake, staring it in the eyes.

{Very well speaker.} The snake said after a moment. {But you shall carry me.}

{Thank you, and of course.} I laughed as I picked him up off of the floor, draping him across my shoulders. He was actually fairly heavy, and I decided I would be looking into books about the Trace, to see if I can find ways around it. I did not want to have to carry a heavy arse snake around all the time. I was a bit letdown when I had first heard that underage magic outside of Hogwarts was against the law. However, the smirk on Avery's face, when I asked him about it, made it seem as if he knew ways around it. He just wasn't going to give me any answers about it.

I pulled out the aging potion and downed it after popping the cork. It was a weird feeling, feeling your body aging almost five years. I was thankful I had gotten Alyssa to magically adjust the size of the clothes I was using for tonight, I hadn't quite yet gotten the hang of it myself. They would turn back to normal size once the spell on it had been canceled. My disguise now complete, I started the trek towards Hogsmeade.

It only took me forty-five minutes of walking to realize I would be trying to fly the treacherous tunnel next time. It was already after eleven by the time the tunnel started to rise and I reached the stone slab that separated me from Honeydukes basement. I carefully slid the slab up and off to the side, peeking out to make sure the cellar was empty. Noticing that it indeed was, I quickly jumped out of the hole and slid the slab back into place, leaving it ajar just slightly so I would be able to open it again when the shop opened back up.

I really wished I could use magic when one of the steps gave off a slight squeak, but kept moving up towards the main room where the fireplace would be located. It was well after eleven so the owners would probably already be asleep. I quickly made my way over to the fireplace, withdrawing my small bag of floo powder as I went.

'Might be a good time to stock up on some free chocolate.' I joked.

Violet laughed. 'True, but our luck they have some sort of ward or spell placed on them that would give us away.'

'Fine. Ruin all my fun.' I pouted, causing her to stick her tongue out at me.

{You may want to get comfortable and hold on tightly.} I whispered to the large snake around my shoulders. {I am not sure how pleasant floo traveling will be for a snake.}

{Very well, young speaker. However, if it hurts too much I may have to bite you.} It teased causing me to grin.

Quietly I through a pinch of floo powder into the low burning fire, watching as the flames flared emerald green. Quickly I stepped into the fire and whispered out "The Leaky Cauldron." With a quiet whoosh and semi-bright flash I was gone from Honeydukes.

* * *

I could just barely make out that there were hundreds of different rooms passing before my eyes, several per second, but I couldn't make out any details from behind their exits. After a few seconds I landed in the fireplace at my destination. Not being used to floo'ing, mixed with also not being used to being taller, I lost my balance and promptly fell on my face, causing the snake around my shoulders to hiss at me…clearly he wasn't impressed with my landing.

{Sorry. I am not used to using the floo or being taller.} I said trying to calm him down.

Thankfully Tom, the bartender, was the only one actually in the bar at the moment. He eyed me wearily once he noticed the eyes slightly glowing behind my hood and the large snake I had just been talking to. He kept his eyes on me my entire way towards the portal to Diagon Alley, watching me as I left through it and the portal closed behind me.

The differences in Diagon Alley in the day versus the night were like water and fire. Diagon Alley had been alive and full of people when I had first came here. Almost all of the shops had been opened and customers were flowing in and out of them, giving the place an almost city-like feeling. Now the shops were all closed up, with the exception of a few, and the place was almost barren of people. I wasn't going to complain. I had hoped to make my way Knockturn Alley with only the bare minimum of people noticing me.

I made my way towards where I knew the entrance to Knockturn Alley to be. It had caught my eye's immediately my first trip here with Professor McGonagall, and I wasn't going to forget it anytime soon. I steeled myself as I turned into Knockturn Alley.

"Here goes nothing." I whispered out loud.

'Please be careful Harry.' Violet said, worry evident in her voice. 'I'm not worth you getting killed over.'

I chose to ignore the second part of her comment. She already knew I thought she was worth it and her saying otherwise was too ridiculous of a comment to even answer.

{If anyone comes toward us in a threatening manner, I want you to attack.} I hissed to the snake on my shoulder as the few shady patrons that were out this time of night came into view. I kept my posture strong, and walked as if I belonged here. The people that could see the red glow from under my hood, and hear me talking to the snake, quickly backed away into the shadows.

From what Avery had told me of the alley, which was basically just about what type of shops were here and their general locations, it was basically one long alley that circled around Diagon Alley. Every so often there were other alleys that branched off from the main alley in Knockturn, extending the opposite direction from Diagon Alley.

I had three destinations for tonight. The first shop I was going to visit was Borgin and Burkes. It was a seedy pawn shop that sold all manner of legal and illegal items that were, or bordered, on the darker side. The shop sold all manner of items, from books, artifacts, enchanted or cursed items, potions, and all sorts of items that you could think of. Thankfully, it was one of the more prominent shops and was located on the main street, only a few blocks down.

The second place I wanted to stop at was a place called The Coffin House. It was a book store for the darker arts. Avery hinted that it may have even sold paraphernalia related to the Dark Art of Necromancy, which was why I would be checking it out. While I wouldn't be able to actually take any of these books back to Hogwarts with me, I could still buy them and have them stored elsewhere until I learn Occlumency.

The last place I wanted to stop at was called The Spiny Serpent. It was, according to Avery, a book store that catered to strictly illegal texts. However, he did not believe that I would be able to enter as, even though the shop was usually open, the door would remain locked at all times, only allowing advanced customers inside. Even Avery had never been in and did not know how to get inside, even though he knew people who were allowed in…he just wouldn't say who.

Every time I would come close to someone on the street, I would whisper something to the snake, hoping the hissing would keep unwanted trouble away from me. It didn't take me long before I spotted the sign that read Borgin and Burkes. I quickly made my way to the door before opening it and stepping inside.

The inside was a dimly lit wizard's shop, but nothing in here was ever likely to be on a Hogwarts school list. A glass case nearby held a withered hand on a cushion, a blood-stained pack of cards, and a staring glass eye. Evil-looking masks stared down from walls, an assortment of human bones lay upon the counter, and rusty, spiked instruments hung from the ceiling.

The shop owner must have heard me enter because a stooping man had appeared almost silently behind the counter, smoothing his greasy dark brown hair back from his face. The man stared from the snake on my shoulders to the red he could see slightly glowing from behind my hood.

"Welcome to Borgin and Burkes." He said, his voice just as oily as his hair. "I am Mr. Borgin. Anything in particular you are looking for?"

I turned to look at him momentarily, while keeping on my circular tour of the shop. I was hoping to silently convey to him that my time was of more importance than his, and that I would speak when I was ready and not when he was. I took a look at the withered hand that sat on the cushion as I passed, reading the name, The Hand of Glory, as I passed it. Closer towards the counter and next to the fireplace I passed by a large ornate cabinet, which I gently ran my hand across before making my turn towards the shopkeeper.

{Keep close watch on the shopkeeper.} I told my serpentine companion, hissing just loud enough to draw the shopkeeper's attention back to the snake. {If he makes any sudden movements, I want you to strike.}

{Yes speaker.} The snake hissed before turning his full attention on the man behind the counter.

"I noticed you were eying the Hand of Glory." The oily-haired man spoke up as I got closer to him. "Just insert a candle and it gives light only to the holder! Best friend of thieves and plunderers! Anything I can help you with Mr…?"

"You may call me V" I hissed to him silkily, as Violet laughed at me for my use of her initial.

'That is so cheesy, Harry!' she continued laughing, thankfully not breaking my concentration.

"I am merely looking for anything you have on Mind Magic, Occlumency especially, the Trace, and Ancient Runes tomes…only the ones that have yet to be deemed illegal for now however." I told him while softly stroking the head of my companion.

"Very well, Mr. V" the man named Borgin replied. Doing a fairly decent job at hiding his fear at the fact I had a six foot snake wrapped around my shoulders, and could speak to it. "I keep our books in the back, and are available only upon request. I shall be back momentarily, feel free to look around while I gather the requested books."

I nodded my head to him as he disappeared once more through the door behind the counter. His description of the Hand of Glory had indeed caught my attention. Having light that only I would be able to see would make sneaking around Hogwarts so much easier. I didn't know if it would be considered illegal to own or not, but I decided to walk back over to it and see if it had a price tag on it.

I was careful not to touch the actual hand, or the cushion it sat upon, in case it held any curses or other charms on it to prevent people from touching it. I carefully lifted up the price tag, turning it over, to show the cost of one hundred galleons. It was a lot to the average person, but for the purebloods that surely visited this store frequently, along with myself, its uses would far outweighed its cost.

I turned around when I heard Borgin come back into the main room. I turned to see him carrying a small stack of only five books, and made my way back over to the counter to see what he had.

"I am afraid that I only have one book each dealing with Mind Magic and the Trace. Both are subjects that are hard to find information on. I have more books dealing with Ancient Runes of course, but these are the only three that won't land you in Azkaban if you are caught with them. Most of the others deal with Rituals of a darker nature." Borgin said as I started browsing the titles of the five books he had brought out.

The three Runes books he had were apparently from a three set series. There was _The Art of Egyptian Runes, The Art of Norse Runes, _and_ The Art of Sumerian Runes._ The book, which I assumed was about the Trace, was simply titled, _How the Ministry 'Sees' Us. _The last book, and the most important at the moment, was titled _Mind Over Magic._

"I will take them…the Hand of Glory as well." I told him as a large greedy smile broke out across his face. "I assume there will be no adverse effects from taking the Hand from its shelf?"

"None sir. I will bag these up while you grab it, and I can shrink your purchase for you if you would like?"

Not knowing if he was just trying to be polite or test my skills, I decided to try and play it off. "I am quite capable of shrinking them myself!" I hissed at him. "However...since you insist, I will allow you the honor."

I added the Hand of Glory to the bag he had placed the books in and watched as he cast a shrinking charm on them. I didn't actually know how to shrink items yet, but vowed I would have Alyssa teach me the next time I saw her.

"That will be 419 galleons." He smiled, exposing his less than hygienic teeth as he did so.

I took out four small pouches, each contained a hundred galleons. "Here is four-hundred." I hissed. "I am being more than generous."

Borgin looked like he wanted to disagree with that statement, but one last glace at the snake staring him in the eyes was enough to make him hold his tongue. "Yes, quite generous indeed. Will there be anything else then?"

I picked my purchase up from the counter and pocketed. "I am certain your discretion will be most exemplary, am I correct?"

"Quite correct indeed." He said looking almost as if insulted I even had to ask.

"Then our business is complete for now." I told him turning for the door. "I am sure we will meet again in the future."

I quickly set off towards my next destination, The Coffin House. I already had an idea where I was going to store any illegal books I purchased here until I could learn to defend my mind. However, this would have to be my last stop for the night if I did buy anything as I would be cutting it close getting back to Honeydukes when they opened. They didn't open until six in the morning as it was, and getting back to my dorm before my roommates woke for the day would be lucky. Hopefully they would sleep in as it was a Saturday morning.

* * *

The Coffin House was located much farther down Knockturn Alley, and was in a side alley at that. It took me close to half an hour just to find the damn place. The building was dusty and in the window was a coffin full of dirt, with an animated skeletal arm protruding from it, trying to dig its body out.

I walked in the door, which chimed, waking the ancient woman who had been asleep behind the counter. I took a quick look around before heading towards her. There were skeletons and paintings of ghosts hanging from the walls and ceiling. There was a shelf of books dealing with strictly Samhain and the nature of death and the veil that separates the two. It however didn't appear to be anything with actual knowledge inside of it. Tombstones lined the walls and the place had the distinct feel of a graveyard.

"Welcome to The Coffin House." The ancient woman welcomed me as I approached her. "My name is Morraine, wha' chu lookin fer laddie?" The lady was positively ancient. She looked even older than Dumbledore, with wispy, flyaway hair that was long, dirty, and graying. She didn't have any teeth left in her head, and it wouldn't be a hard stretch to imaging her as just another one of the decorations.

"I will keep this quick...I am looking for information and I am told you are the one to see." I was really running short on time and needed to finish this stop quick.

"Aye, 'at wha' chu hear is it?" she asked staring me down. "Wha' makes ya tink I'ma sell it ter ya if I did?"

"Because if I am wrong, then you are of no use to me...Useless people have no need to still be alive." I wasn't really going to kill her. While I wouldn't hesitate to kill if it would progress me with my goal, killing her wouldn't really change anything if she didn't want to sell to me. I am sure that any books she had wouldn't just be laying about and without being able to use magic I wouldn't likely find anything...she didn't need to know that though so I would at least try to scare her into selling.

{If she tells me she won't sell, I want you to scare her.} The snake hissed at her in reply...I wasn't expecting her to start chuckling if I was being honest.

"I ain't survived livin' fer 130 years fer nothin' laddie, and I ain't 'fraid o' no dyin either." she laughed. "But...no worries. If you be havin' the gold, I be havin' wha' chu lookin fer."

She disappeared into the back room and didn't come back out for almost ten minutes. When she did, she was carrying a large, and definitely old, tome in her hands. The leather cover seemed likely to be made of some sort of skin, and a large skeletal spine was in use as the spine of the book. On the from cover I could just make out the title, _Veil of the Damned._

"I trus' you don' need remindin' 'at chu ain't get 'is 'ere?"

"How much?" I asked when she finally looked back up to me.

"Mos' valuable dis 'ere book be lad. Ain't be more n' a hundred books 'bout Necromancy n'tha world. I ain't be partin wit it fer no less n' a thousan' galleons." the look in her eyes almost dared me to argue her price. I didn't have time to haggle anyhow.

'There is no point in me even reminding you that a thousand galleons is a lot is there?" Violet asked. I just gave her a pointed look that said she already knew the answer. 'Fine...just hurry up with it. If we don't get back to Hogwarts before your roommates wake up were screwed.'

'I know, I know, I know. I'm trying to hurry Vi'

"I will take it." I told Morraine, throwing almost the rest of my gold onto the counter.

'I will have to get to the bank soon if you expect me to be able to buy you a Christmas present.' I joked, grabbing the book and quickly pocketing it and making my way to the door.

"Tread safe ou' there. Ain't safe fer one so young..." she trailed off, with a knowing glint in her eyes as the door shut behind me.

'Creepy arse old lady.' A small shiver went down my spine as I left her shop.

'I get the feeling she knows more than she lets on.' Violet did have a point. You would have to be skilled to survive to her age when dealing with stuff so dark.

'At least we won't have to go back there anytime soon.'

* * *

It didn't take long before I had made it back to Diagon Alley. By now it was already well past midnight. I quickly made my way through the archway to The Leaky Cauldron and hurried my way into muggle London.

I was thankful that I had actually paid attention to the directions, during the car ride to and from Surrey to the London Zoo, as I hopped onto the creaky old broom I had pilfered from Hogwarts. I figured it would take me less than an hour easy as the crow flies.

As the streetlamps of Privet Drive came into view, I finally flew down out of the cloud cover I had been flying through for the last forty minutes. I used to keep the window in my bedroom unlocked just in case I had ever needed to make a quick run for it. I just hoped that the Dursley's continued to ignore my room like the plague.

My first week in my new room I had discovered a loose floorboard just on the underside of my bed. I used to hide all of my important stuff, such as my wand, in case Vernon decided to try and burn my stuff. There should be enough space to keep the book I had just bought. I would hopefully be safe there until I could learn to defend my mind from intrusion.

Silently I flew down next to my window on the first floor, cringing slightly as it let off a slight squeal as it slid open. As quietly as I could, I flew into the room and silently landed. Almost catlike, I was on all fours at the edge of my bed and pried loose the floorboard, slipping the book inside, before replacing it.

I pulled out the old compass from my robes as I mounted my broom once more. I shut the window once outside and quickly located the direction I needed to travel before setting off as fast as the old broom would take me. I knew that the journey from London to Hogsmeade took about seven hours by train, and I was forth minutes south of that. Thankfully the train was much slower than a broom, and I was hoping to make the flight in under four hours...seeing as it was just after two in the morning, I sure hoped like hell I could make it in under four.

It was already fifteen minutes after six when I spotted the turrets of Hogwarts and the town of Hogsmeade approaching in the distance. I was soaked and freezing from flying through the clouds when passing over civilization. Add being behind schedule and it made for a pretty pissed off me.

The sun had already started to rise a half hour ago, and the shops in Hogsmeade would all be opened for the most part already. I landed in an alley next to Honeydukes and quickly took off my hood. It would only raise suspicions inside of a candy store and I still had roughly twenty more minutes before I returned to looking like my eleven year old self so I had to hurry.

{This is where we must part ways my friend.} I quietly hissed to the snake as I set it down on the ground. {I thank you for your help last night, and I wish you well in the future.}

{You are welcome, young speaker. If you are ever in need of me for another adventure...well I daresay you know how to summon me.} The snake set off with those parting words in the direction of the Forbidden Forest.

'You have to hurry Harry.' Violet spoke up starting to get nervous. 'That age potion isn't going to last much longer and you still have to get into the secret passage before it does.'

'I know, I know, I'm hurrying.' I told her hurriedly as I quickly made my way into Honeydukes shop, keeping my eyes towards the ground as I still had the glamor up on my eyes.

The storekeeper was moving in and out of the back storeroom, still preparing for the day ahead even though the store had opened already. I made to aimlessly walking around the store, still keeping close to the cellar door, until the clerk turned and went back through the door behind the counter. As quick and quiet as I could I sneaked back into the cellar, quickly spotting the corner of the slab under the stairs sticking up from its hole.

Not being as quiet as I should have been I slide the stone slab to the side and jumped down the hole into the secret passage back to Hogwarts, closing the trapdoor completely as once I had.

The walk out last night had taken me over forty-five minutes, but I ran it back in under thirty. I ran as fast as I could back to the dungeons, glad that teachers and prefects rarely patrolled this early in the morning, they needed sleep too after all. I breathed a sigh of relief as I had safely made it back to my common room without being caught. With a smile on my face at my success the last few hours, I opened the door to my dorm room and quietly made my way inside, closing the door behind me.

"Harry?" I froze. "You weren't in your bed, I was getting worried about you."

* * *

**AN: Well there you have it. This is my longest chapter ever and i hope you all enjoyed it. Any questions, comments, or concerns? Please feel free to PM them to me or leave them in a review. (I do actually read them all). I would like to ask, however, that if you are going to criticize my story, or find something about it you do not like, when i counter your rebuttal with my reasons why I have done things the way i have, please don't be a coward and block me from responding to your reply's after you realize that you were in fact wrong. I will not state any names as that would be a very "Douche" thing to do, but you know who you are. Anyhow, i hope to have the next chapter up as quick as i can manage it. Not sure if it will be 10k like this one was but we shall see. Thank you for reading!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I have had it asked a couple of times, so i figured i would explain it here to you all. I am willing to bet that 99% of the people who will read this fic, have read dozens, if not hundreds, of fics before it. In doing so, like I have done, you have probably read certain parts of the plot dozens, if not hundreds, of times. There are only so many times i care to read about overused canon filler that people use to fill half of their stories. I will not be dwelling or concentrating on making sure there are a certain number or Potions classes or Transfiguration classes that Harry has scenes for in my story. Fifty times watching Harry turn a match into a needle, sometimes flawlessly and effortlessly and others not so much, have been quite enough for me, and i assume as much for many of my readers. Instead i will be concentration on making my story flirt around these particular moments in Harry's life, concentrating more on scenes that are unique to my plotline or the ones that are from canon that i merely cannot ignore for the purpose of my plot. **

**Disclaimer: Parts of this chapter will look familiar! I have used a few bits and pieces in the second half of this chapter, that are from Chapter 12 of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The parts i did use have had their own flair and changes of course, but there were some similarities that i felt fit the story, and hey...if it ain't broke don't fix it right? Enjoy!**

* * *

"_Harry?" I froze. "Where have you been man, I was getting worried about you."_

'Just stay calm Harry.' Violet whispered to me.

'Vi...why are you whispering? You know he can't hear you right?' I laughed.

'Prat!' She glared at me. 'One day he will be able to hear me...I need the practice!'

'I'm just messing with ya, Vi.' I placated her. 'What do you recommend I tell him?'

'Tell him you were sick and went to the hospital wing...I would just tell him something soon though, or he might start calling you Goyle Jr. if you just keep standing there staring at him.'

'Ouch, now that's a low one Vi. Malfoy was bad enough, but Goyle Jr.? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you hated me.' I pouted as Violet prodded me, pointing to Wayne who would soon start to get more worried if I just continued to stare at him.

"Sorry Wayne. I didn't mean to wake you." I told the quietest of my roommates. "My stomach wasn't feeling good so I went to see Pomfrey. She only just released me."

"Oh…maybe a note next time?" Wayne asked politely. "You know…just so we know you're alright and everything."

"Of course. I should have thought of that. I'm sorry to have made you worried." Damn Puff mentality. Next thing you know they will start complaining that I don't spend enough time with them.

"I'm not the only one worried, Harry." Wayne interrupted my thoughts. "The other guys are worried about you too. We hardly ever see you outside of classes and meals."

Really? You have got to be kidding me right now. Perhaps I should look into Divination in my third year because right now I'm starting to feel like Sylvia Browne.

'I'm surprised they waited for this long before saying something to be honest.' Violet chimed in.

'Unfortunately, your right. I would have thought their Puff nature would have kicked in weeks ago.' It was one of the parts of Hufflepuff I hadn't counted on. I had been so worried about the Claw's need for knowing what you're studying, so they can outshine you and do it better, that I had completely overlooked the fact that the Puff's would make sure nobody was left out. While that sort of loyalty could be useful later, it was a right pain in the arse right now. Well, time for more lies and half-truths I suppose.

"The neighborhood I came from was rather small and there weren't very many children my age." I told him, trying to play up a sad story. "I guess it has just taken me a while to get used to being around so many other children my age. I will try to do a bit better in the future."

'And the Grammy awards go to…' Violet cut in laughing at the seemingly universal Hufflepuff gullibility.

'I can only hope for their sake that it is just them being young and not a trait that carries through to the real world with them.' I said sadly. It would be rather pathetic to live your life being fooled so easily.

'I wouldn't get your hopes up, Harry. The world, muggle and magical alike, is made up of sheep and they have to come from somewhere.' She definitely had a point. I'm sure there were a few smart Hufflepuffs, but their loyalty had to be used against them fairly frequently in the real world.

"Thanks Harry. I think I'm going to go back to bed for a few hours." Wayne said climbing back into his four poster.

"No problem Wayne." I told him, wanting to get some sleep myself. I would catch a few hours now and read some of the books I had bought when I awoke.

* * *

I ended up sleeping until almost noon. Thankfully, the dorm was empty when I woke. I knew the Ancient Runes tomes I had bought would probably still be too advanced for me to understand, so I decided to tackle the other two. The book on the mind arts was the one I was interested in the most, so I decided to read the book dealing about the Trace first so I could devote as much time as I wanted to Occlumency.

The book had taken me almost two hours to read from start to finish. It was a very well spent two hours however. The majority of the book went on to describe the history of the Trace and the when and why of how it was enacted, as well as its effects on the community at large. While I couldn't find anything that would negate it, other than becoming of age, there was one passage that I had to reread to make sure I wasn't misinterpreting it.

It still brought a smile to my face when I looked back to the passage that would change how my time outside of Hogwarts was spent…

_No information on how the Trace came to be has ever made public eye. However, by determining exactly what the capabilities of the Trace are, there have been several loopholes that have been made available to those who know how to find them._

_To find these loopholes, we must first examine how the Trace works, and how the ministry is able to track magic in general. There is only one other way the ministry is able to actively track magic that is performed, outside of the Trace. The Obliviation Squad has magical detectors that are situated in any area that has medium to high concentration of muggles. The most famous of these places is of course London._

_Any time a spell is cast or magic is used in a muggle habitat, an alert is sent to the ministry Obliviation Squad to be dispatched to the location, along with Aurors. This system is also used to help detect underage magic in locations where only one wizard is known to dwell, such as an underage muggleborn wizard. If magic is performed within a five mile radius of an area inhabited by only one wizard, that magic is accredited to said wizard. Said wizard will be able to argue his case in a disciplinarian hearing if he or she so chooses._

_The second avenue to discovering underage magic is of course the Trace itself. Understanding the limitations of the Trace will help us understand ways around it. The Trace doesn't register magic done _by _the underage wizard upon which is resides, but merely detects whenever magic is done in the proximity of said wizard. This means that in areas of a high concentration of wizards, it is almost impossible to detect if the underage wizard is the one to perform the magic or not._

_Areas such as Diagon Alley, Hogwarts, Quidditch events, or in the homes of an all magic family, an underage wizard will be able to use magic and the ministry shall be unable to detect if it was said wizard or perhaps a sibling or parent who has cast the spell. It is because of this fact that the ministry does not monitor the houses of wizarding families for underage magic very closely, but merely dictates that parents police the underage witch or wizard themselves._

_This is an advantage to children who grow up in magical families, giving the child the advantage over muggleborn children who cannot perform magic outside of school. It is one of the primary driving factors behind the pureblood movement that…_

The book went on to talk a bit about pureblood supremacy and how it was effected by the Trace, but I had no interests in reading about it a second time. The information I needed, I had already gotten. Apparently the Trace didn't detect underage magic at all…it merely acts as a monitoring system that detects magic cast in the vicinity of anyone that was carrying the Trace. According to the book, I would have been able to use magic when I was in Knockturn Alley and the only questions that would have been asked might have been why the Trace was activated in Knockturn Alley during the middle of the night.

So long as I was in a magical dwelling I would be able to use magic without detection. I still wouldn't be able to use it at the Dursley's or anywhere in the muggle world, but Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley, Hogsmeade, and the homes of magical families…these were all fair game as far as the Trace and the ministry were concerned.

'This will certainly solve quite a few problems in the future.' Violet spoke up, also happy about my findings.

'Yes, and cause me quite a few less headaches.' It would definitely save me from having to carry around a thirty pound snake for hours at a time.

'Merlin knows you get enough of them with me around all the time.' She joked.

'Amen to that…it is a miracle I haven't gone insane yet.' I countered her with a laugh.

'Hey! You're not supposed to agree with me on that you prat!' she scowled and I couldn't help but stick my tongue out at her.

'That's what you get for calling me Goyle Jr.! At least I didn't call you Parkinson or Bulstrode.' I laughed, actually feeling sorry that Malfoy was stuck with her. Nobody deserved that kind of torture. That was one of the many flaws in an arranged marriage that the purebloods seem to love. It is hard to tell when your children are babies just who will grow up to be a cow or have a 'winning' personality…poor Malfoy was stuck with both. Almost every time I had been near her, she was talking down to someone or had her nose so far in the air I am surprised she could see where she was going.

'You wouldn't! At least Bulstrode has a nice personality…but Parkinson? She will be lucky if Malfoy doesn't get desperate enough to off her before she graduates!'

I couldn't help but laugh at that one. It wasn't as if Parkinson was the ugliest girl in the world, she was definitely better looking than Bulstrode…if you can use the words better and looking in the same sentence as those two. She had an average shaped body, but her face had that pinched look to it that made her look like a pug. That may have been tolerable if she also didn't have the personality of Snape, mixed with Aunt Marge.

'I know what you mean…it is a sad day when I start to feel sorry for Malfoy!' I joked, causing her to burst into laughter. Of course, Malfoy didn't act much better than her. He too ran around the school as if he was born better than everybody else around him. I sighed as she began to calm back down. 'I should probably start on this mind arts book…there is no telling how long it will take to learn Occlumency, if it even says how to learn it in here.'

'Just don't burn yourself out.' She said in a serious tone. 'You're not going to have me a body by Christmas, and I don't want you wearing yourself out trying to. All of the stress of doing so would age you faster than you can imagine…and I don't want you having more wrinkles than Dumbledore when I finally get the chance to touch you.'

'Eww love…Must you put another disturbing thought into my head?' I asked sarcastically, knowing that she knew, that I knew, that she knew, that I secretly loved it…or however that saying goes. 'Besides…I can't read with images of Dumbledore's wrinkly old arse swimming through my head.'

'Yeah…not the best of images I admit…best we try to forget about that one.' She said cringing as I was now imagining and comparing a wrinkly version of my chest to my imagined wrinkly version of Dumbledore's.

'Deal!' I answered, also cringing and wondering how the hell my mind jumped to that last image in the first place. Finally I managed to concentrate on the book in front of me, and more importantly blocking out any more images of Dumbledore.

Sadly, if I thought images of a bare chested Dumbledore were bad...which they most definitely are! Then things grew even worse after I had read the book on the mind arts. While the book was very informative on what the different magic's that effected the mind were, and the histories behind them. It was severely lacking on the 'how to's' behind them. It went on to describe the different abilities one could accomplish with mind magic, such as Legilimency, Occlumency, Obliviations, Compulsion Charms, and even the Imperious Curse. It just didn't say how to actually do any of them.

About the only thing that gave me hope was one specific passage that may have given me a lead.

_Occlumency is a rather difficult and rare art to learn. While there have been books that have been imbued with a 'personality' of sorts, similar to a magical portrait, that can aid the reader through the learning process, fewer than five of these books exist worldwide and are rarely ever seen outside of the private vaults of the super wealthy._

_The main way of passing on, or learning, the art has traditionally been from person to person. However, even this is limited in the number of teachers available as there is always the potential for the student to penetrate the mind of the teacher, often seeing snippets of that person's life. As the Old Families became more and more secretive of their family secrets to their peers around them, the number of people willing to teach the obscure skill have dwindled to merely dozens worldwide._

_If you are indeed looking to find a teacher of the art, there are a few distinguishable traits among accomplished Occlumens to help a prospective student locate a suitable teacher. The most common of these traits is their extreme control over their emotions. Even an amateur Occlumens can dull their emotions to some degree, but will not be able to singularly control their emotions, but rather will dull them all at once. While a master Occlumens can dull or suppress their emotions individually, an amateur can only dull them as a collective group, often making the person appear cold or emotionless._

'Sound like someone we know?' Violet cut in after I had finished re-reading that particular passage.

'Yeah...who would have thought we would have met a budding Occlumens on the very train-ride here.' I had always just thought Daphne was a bit of a cold person to those that weren't in her immediate circle of friends, or that she just wanted to use that aloofness as a shield in Slytherin house. I just hoped I could convince her to talk her Occlumency teacher into accepting another student.

'Well, I of course knew all along...after all, I am like the smartest person in the world you know...I just wanted to make you have to earn the knowledge, you know walk the paths of life and all that.' Violet told me haughtily, trying to pretend that she hadn't been just as clueless as I had been.

'Yeah, next you're going to tell me you know the meaning of life.' I replied sarcastically...I mean someone had to bring her down a peg, and I was saddled with the job.

'Pfft...what a ridiculous statement. Of course I know the meaning of life! It's 42!' I couldn't help but bust out laughing at the irony of it. 'What? What's so funny Mister?' she demanded while glaring at me.

'You said 42...and you're hitchhiking…inside my head!' I told her, laughing even harder when she glared at me, finally getting the reference.

'Haaaarry! Quit laughing at me!' she whined, putting on that sad puppy look.

'Cheater...When I get you a body, I'm going to make sure it can't make that face.' I lied...she looked way to cute to do that...Until I realized she knew I was thinking exactly that. Crap!

'Ha! I knew you couldn't do it. I'm so gonna have you wrapped around my little pinky.' she teased.

'Yeah, well don't think I'm not keeping count on how many spankings you're gonna get when you do get a body!' I told her, trying to sound stern...while most likely failing at it.

'I'll be good! I promise Mister Sir!' she said cheekily. Yep, I failed at it.

'Yeah, yeah...cheeky brat.' I grumbled. 'Let's just go find Daphne and see if we can't get some answers.'

* * *

It was after breakfast the next morning when I finally had a chance to talk to Daphne. I made sure to arrive early so I wouldn't miss her. When she and Tracey had finished eating and made to leave the hall, I excused myself from my housemates to follow them. They had made it to the stairs that led down to the dungeons when I caught up to them.

"Daphne. Tracey." I announced myself. "How are you two lovely ladies doing this morning?"

Daphne just raised an eyebrow at my greeting, while Tracey had a huge smile on her face. It was Daphne who answered first. "You trying to soften us up for something Potter? What is it you need?"

"You wound me Daphne." I said holding my heart, causing Tracey to laugh even harder at me. "What makes you think I want anything? Perhaps I just wanted to talk to my two favorite snakes."

"So what do you wanna talk about Harry?" Tracey cut in.

"Uhm...actually I do need something." I told them sheepishly. "I was hoping I could talk to Daphne about something in private."

'Smooth Harry...smooth.' Violets laughter echoed Tracey's.

'Hush you! You can play 'make fun of Harry' later.'

Daphne eyed me for a few moments before giving a slight nod of her head. "You better not be up to any funny business Potter, or I will have to hurt you."

"No funny business." I laughed. "Let's find an empty room and Tracey can keep a lookout for us."

Daphne nodded her consent while I led the two girls down an isolated hallway in the dungeons that I had used from time to time for some alone time and uninterrupted study. I ushered Daphne inside one of the rooms before turning to Tracey. "Sorry Trace...only one pretty girl allowed in at a time."

Tracey put on a fake pout, causing me to chuckle. "Fine...guess I will just wait out here."

"I'll make it up to you. Just keep an eye out for anyone and knock on the door if you see anyone coming." I asked her.

"Yeah, yeah...just hurry it up, it's creepy down here alone." she demanded. I nodded my head and entered the room, closing the door behind me.

"So what is it you want that would require you to drag me all the way down here? You better not be trying to ask me out Potter." I couldn't help but chuckle at her. She was rather easy on the eyes, so it wasn't a hard stretch to imagine she had to deal with boys eying her...it would only get worse for her as she got older.

"I'm only 11 Daph...perhaps in a couple years I'll ask you out." she was good at hiding her emotion, but not yet perfect at it. I could still make out the slightest of blushes grace her cheeks. "No, I asked you here to see if I could get you to convince your Occlumency teacher to accept another student."

I had to admit, she did much better at hiding her surprise at my question. "And what makes you think that I even know Occlumency Potter?"

I grinned at her. "Well, the fact you didn't have to ask what it was for starters. Secondly, while most people seem to think of you as the cold, heartless, ice princess of Slytherin, you still haven't mastered the art and your emotions are still there for those who are looking hard enough for them."

"Very Slytherin of you, Potter. Add that to actually knowing what Occlumency is and wanting to learn it...how is it you are a Hufflepuff?" she asked, eying me as if I was a new toy or puzzle that needed solving.

'Smart girl that one.' Violet jumped in.

'No kidding.' I was just glad we were on friendly terms and she hopefully didn't have any reason to share her thoughts with others.

"Well, the hat did say I would have been great in Slytherin...but I do know how to work hard for the things I want, and for those who have earned it...I am very loyal." While there may not be anyone other than Violet who had earned it, there was no way I would be anything but absolutely loyal to her. It may not be a widespread trait of mine, but there was some Hufflepuff in me. "So will you help me? I am willing to pay whatever is required, and a vow to keep each other's secrets is required...to protect both parties, of course."

"I will send the letter out tonight asking them." she answered after a moment. "On one condition...you get to carry my school bag from lunch to Potions for the rest of term!" she actually cracked a small smile at that. I couldn't help but smile along with her.

"Ok, but you get to be my new partner in there. There is no way Snape will take points from one of his snakes." I told her with a crooked grin when she glared at me. "So you will let me know when you get an answer?"

"Yes, Potter." she said still glaring at me. "Now if you don't mind, I have some studying to do."

"Of course, of course...by the way, if your tutor accepts, inform them I will be available on weekends at their earliest convenience." I told her, giving her a chaste kiss on the cheek, grinning from ear to ear when she glared at me even harder. "Have a pleasant day Daph!"

"You better watch yourself, Potter!" she called after me as I made my exit from the room.

"Bye Trace!" I told her as I passed her, deciding to give her a quick kiss on the cheek too for the hell of it, I was in a very happy mood, before turning to stick my tongue out at Daphne. She of course sent me running with a few stinging hexes that I just barely managed to dodge.

'Only eleven and you are already have the girls trying to curse you...Whatever will I do with you?' Violet teased.

'Hey! I have to hone my skills somehow if I plan on wooing you someday.' I said causing Violet to blush.

'You need to have skills first before you can hone them.' she laughed, recovering from her blush nicely.

'You wound me Vi! Whatever did I do to deserve such a thing?' I pouted.

'Don't be such a baby!' she said poking her tongue out at me. 'Besides, just because I could use some room to move around, doesn't mean I want your head getting any bigger.'

* * *

During my next Potion's class, I did indeed carry Daphne's bag to class for her. I received a bunch of glares and curious looks from the Slytherin's for joining them on their side of the room.

Of course, none of these glares held the intent to kill quite like the one I got from Snape. "Potter! What are you doing on this side of the room? Five points from Hufflepuff!"

As usual I did my best to not laugh at the grown man child. I had long since stopped caring about his attitude against me. It wasn't as if I really cared about the house cup, and my housemates were too forgiving to really hold it against me. "I lost a bet with Miss Greengrass, sir. I get the honor of carrying her bag to and from class until term ends…sir." I added trying to sound as if I was upset by the situation.

"Five more points from Hufflepuff for gambling Potter!" Snape's face was starting to interest me as the particular shade of red started to creep closer to the one that Vernon had perfected over the years. "If you so much as disturb my class by so much as even a cough, I will have you in detention until you graduate…understand me Potter?"

I could tell it was killing Snape right about now that by rule he couldn't force me to move unless he assigned the entire class their own seat as well…well unless I was foolish enough to act out in his class. Thankfully I was smarter than that. I had already heard the rumors of how Ron Weasley didn't seem to catch on to that lesson, and Snape seemed to take every opportunity to punish him for it. Then again, the Gryff's did tend to house the majority of the hot heads.

After the lesson, in which Daphne and I managed to brew an excellent shrinking solution, Daphne passed me a letter once we had made it out into the hallway. "Father sent this to me just this morning with your reply, Potter. He will be available the first weekend after the New Year. The instructions on how to get to the family manor are in the letter…make sure you burn it after you memorize it."

"Thanks Daph…you're the best!" I said genuinely.

"Hey! What about me?" Tracey whined.

"Hmm…" I replied, pretending I was thinking it over. "If you can get Daph to start calling me Harry instead of Potter, I might be able to bump you up a spot or two on the list?"

"Or two?" she asked wide-eyed. "Just how far down the list am I?"

"You're twentieth on the list…just after Crabbe and Goyle." I teased.

"Fine! See if I talk to you anymore." She huffed, folding her arms across her chest while glaring at me.

"Fine, fine…get her to call me Harry and I will move you to second place…deal?"

"Deal!" she smiled, dropping the fake mad act.

"Well ladies, I do believe we do not share the next period together, so I must be off." I told the two girls who were starting to become my first real…friends I guess…since Violet. I turned to Tracey just before I split off from the two girls. "Oh, and Trace? You were already number two on the list anyhow…thanks for taking the deal anyways though." I didn't stick around to hear her reply.

* * *

Now that I had to wait for the New Year to start the next phase of my plan, I suddenly had much more free time on my hands. I still spent hours and hours each week studying my Charms, Potions, and Ancient Runes…on top of the normal classwork of course, but even the school work seemed to come naturally to me. Then again, learning had always been really easy to me. My only competition was the Granger girl from Gryffindor. She had the edge on theory as she dedicated her whole life to the library it seemed, but I was far and away better than her at the practical side of things. Even the old battle-axe, McGonagall, seemed to like me.

Since I had so much free time on my hands until I started Occlumency, I spent a bit more time each week hanging out with my fellow Hufflepuff first years, and of course Tracey and Daphne. Justin and Ernie had formed their own little group in our dorm that mostly included Zacharias, which left Wayne on the outside looking in occasionally, so I usually spent more time with him than I did the other two. Wayne was an alright guy, he was a half-blood like me. He had a muggle mother and a muggleborn father.

Before I knew it, the Christmas holidays had already arrived. Thankfully I was going to have the dorm all to myself. While I didn't hate my dorm mates, I was still growing tired of spending so much time with them. I just wasn't used to being around people. Growing up it had always just been me and Violet, and I wasn't sure I would ever want to keep a circle of more than a couple of friends.

I had mail ordered presents for the first years in Hufflepuff, along with Tracey and Daphne. It wasn't that I really expected anything from them in return, I just didn't want to stick out for not doing so, or even feeling like a jerk if some of them did actually get me something. About the best thing I had ever received from the Dursley's for Christmas had been a bent up old coat hanger. It was certainly better than the used tissue they gave me the year before.

For the most part, the gifts themselves were pretty standard for what a first year would buy his friends. The only ones I actually took extra time selecting gifts for were Daphne and Tracey. For them I had ordered advanced books, at least what was supposed to be advanced for first years, in their favorite subjects…Potions for Daphne, and Charms for Tracey, along with gift cards to Gladrag's as I figured they were girls, and girls love clothes…at least I hope they did. Violet had never worn any, so she hadn't been the best for advice on it.

When finally Christmas morning came around, I ended up ignoring the small pile of presents at the foot of my bed in favor of spending some alone time with Violet. It had basically become a tradition between the two of us. Every Christmas, after cooking the breakfast of course, Vernon would lock me in my cupboard while Dudley got to spend a couple hours enjoying Christmas.

Violet and I would just lay in the dark and talk, telling each other how much the other meant to us.

'Happy Christmas Harry!' Violet almost shouted, she was much too cheery in my opinion. Of course I liked sleep much more than she did.

'Happy Christmas to you too Vi.' I told her sleepily. 'How can you be so alive this early in the morning?'

'It's easy Harry…I'm not alive. Ha!' she joked.

'Yeah, yeah…you ain't funny.' I mumbled. 'Just for tryin to be funny, we aren't going to listen to any carols today.'

'But Harry! It's Christmas…you wouldn't really make me miss them would you?' she pouted. 'Pretty pretty please!'

'Hey! You cut that out!' I told her, trying to be stern…me yawning at the end of it probably ruined it though. 'Let me get fifteen more minutes of sleep and you can listen to all the carols you want Vi.'

'Woohoo! You're the best! Wub you Hawwy!' she cheered, finishing with a baby voice.

'Yeah, yeah…love you too Vi. Now, how about them fifteen minutes for Merlins sake!" I chuckled, not really irritated with her…just missing out on some extra sleep.

'Fine, but make it a quick fifteen…I wanna see what you got for Christmas!' she said impatiently.

'Looks like those fifteen minutes are up I guess.' I mumbled, knowing that with her mind on presents she wasn't going to let me finish the other fourteen minutes, fifty-five seconds of my quiet time…I had been counting!

I decided to open the gifts from my housemates first, revealing a large collection of sweets that I was doubtful to ever finish. From Tracey, I received a book on Charms that was slightly more advanced than what I could do now. It would come in handy in a few months. I couldn't help but smile when it turned out that Daphne had given me the exact same Potions book that I had gifted her. She and Tracey knew of my passion for Potions and Charms, but neither yet knew of my desire for Runes. There wasn't really any good reason to tell them I was studying for a class I wouldn't take for another year and a half.

I didn't even bother to open the present from Vernon and Petunia...knowing them it was probably something useless to me, like a fifty-pence piece or something. It was the last present that was sitting at the foot of my bed that gave me the biggest shock and also, most welcome surprise.

When I picked it up it was very light. I unwrapped it, causing something fluid and silvery gray to go slithering to the floor, where it lay in gleaming folds. I carefully picked up the silver cloth from the floor. It was strange to the touch, like water woven into the material.

'I wonder what it is.' Violet asked curiously.

'A cloak of some sort I guess.' I told her, turning to pick up the wrapping the cloak had come from. 'No name...' I mumbled.

'Harry, a note fell out of it!' Violet whispered excitedly.

'Again with the whispering?' I chuckled causing her to glare at me as I picked up the note.

Written in narrow, loopy writing I had never seen before were the words:

_ Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well._

_A Very Merry Christmas to you._

'Hmm...no signature.' I told Violet redundantly, her having already read it as well.

It felt strange...who had sent the cloak? Had it really belonged to my father? Question after question was flowing through my mind.

'Well you may as well try it on, Harry. It is a connection to your father after all.' Violet told me sadly, knowing that this was the first thing I had ever held that had belonged to my parents.

I threw on the cloak and looked down at my feet...except they were gone. I quickly dashed to the mirror. Sure enough, my reflection looked back at me, well at least my head did...it was suspended in midair, my body completely invisible. Grinning from ear to ear, I pulled the cloak over my head and my reflection vanished completely!

'Imagine the fun we can have with this Harry!' Violet said excitedly, grinning madly as if she had just been crowned Queen of the Universe.

'This should make getting around the castle much easier...the restricted section in the library too now that I think of it.' I told her, also grinning wildly.

'I say we go tonight, soon as lights go out.' Violet declared. It sounded like a good plan to me.

* * *

When night finally fell, I made my way up to my dorm and pulled the cloak and Hand of Glory out from my trunk. I let the material flow over my hands, smoother than silk, light as air, before i slipped the Hand of Glory in my pocket.

'The note did say 'Use it well' after all.' I told Violet, my mood happy once more. Perhaps I could find some clue that will help me with my task tucked away in the Restricted Section.

'I think we can surpass any expectations they may have had.' Violet grinned.

I slipped out of my room and wrapped the cloak around myself. Looking down at my legs, I saw only moonlight and shadows. It was a very funny feeling. The whole of Hogwarts was open to me with this cloak. I could go anywhere in this...and nobody would even know.

I crept down the stairs, across the common room, and made my way through the labyrinth of the dungeons, headed for the fourth floor. The library was pitch-black and a bit eerie. I lit the Hand to see my way along the rows of books. I snickered slightly at the eerie looking light source, which looked as if it was a shriveled hand holding a candle floating along in midair, and even though I could feel my arm supporting it, the sight was still amusing.

The Restricted Section was right at the back of the library. Stepping carefully over the rope that separated these books from the rest of the library, I held up my lamp to read the titles.

They didn't tell me much. Their peeling, faded gold letters spelled words in languages I couldn't understand. Some had no title at all. One book had a dark stain on it that looked horribly like blood. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled. I couldn't decide if I was imaging it or not, but it almost sounded as if a faint whispering was coming from the books, as though they knew someone was there who shouldn't be.

I knew I had to start somewhere, so I set the Hand of Glory down carefully on the floor. I looked along the bottom shelf for an interesting looking book. A large black and silver volume caught my eye. I pulled it out with difficulty, it was rather heavy, and balanced it on my knee, letting it fall open.

Turns out that was a big fucking mistake. A piercing, bloodcurdling shriek split the silence around me...the book was screaming! I always knew the wizarding world was weird, but screaming books? I quickly snapped the book shut, the shriek carrying on and on in one high, unbroken, earsplitting note. I stumbled backwards and accidentally knocked over my light, of course it promptly went out...it was back to darkness once more in the creepy arse library.

Trying not to panic...well not too much anyhow, as I heard footsteps coming down the corridor outside, I stuffed the shrieking book back onto the shelf, picked up and pocketed the Hand of Glory, and ran for it. I passed Filch in the doorway; Filch's pale, wild eyes looked straight through me, and I slipped under his outstretched arm and streaked off up the corridor, the damn book's ringing still filling my ears.

I came to a sudden halt in front of a tall suit of armor. I had been so busy getting away from the library, I hadn't paid much attention to where I was actually gong. Perhaps because it was dark...or just because Fate hates me so much, I didn't recognize where I was at all. There was a suit of armor near the kitchens, I knew, but I had to be at least four floors above there now.

"You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyone was wandering around at night, and somebody's been in the library...Restricted Section."

I could feel the blood drain out of both my and Violets faces...and hell, she didn't even have blood...or a face! Wherever I was, Filch must have known a shortcut, because his soft, greasy voice was getting nearer, and to my utter horror, it was Snape who replied. I was really starting to wonder what I did to piss Fate off so much. "The Restricted Section? Well, they can't be far, we'll catch them."

I stood rooted to the spot as Filch and Snape came around the corner ahead. I knew they couldn't see me, of course, but it was a narrow corridor and if they came much closer, they'd walk right into me. The cloak didn't stop me from being solid after all.

I backed away as quietly as I could...half expecting Fate to give me a flatulence attack at any moment. A door stood ajar to my left. It was my only hope. I sucked in my breath, trying to hold it, and tried to squeeze through the door. To my relief I managed to get inside the room without their noticing anything. They walked straight past, and leaned against the wall, breathing deeply, listening to their footsteps dying away.

'That was close.' Violet whispered, I didn't even bother to call her out on whispering this time...it had been close.

'Too close.' I told her still trying to calm my breath.

It was a few seconds before I noticed anything about the room I had hidden in. It looked like an unused classroom. The dark shapes of desks and chairs were piled against the walls, and there was an upturned wastepaper basket, but propped against the wall facing me was something that didn't look as if it belonged there...something that looked as if someone had just put it there to keep it out of the way.

'Beautiful.' Violet said in awe at a magnificent mirror. It was as high as the ceiling, with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. There was an inscription carved around the top: Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi.

'Women and mirrors...i'll never understand it.' I mumbled to myself, doing my best to not cower under Violets glare at my comment.

My panic fading now that there was no sound of Filch and Snape, I moved nearer to the mirror, wanting to look at myself but see no reflection again. I stepped in front of it...then immediately had to slap my hand over my mouth to keep from yelling out.

I whirled around. My heart was pounding far more furiously than when the book had screamed, for I had not seen only myself in the mirror, but Violet as well standing next to me...well at least the mental image I had always had of what I thought she would look like, my arms wrapped around her shoulders from behind. But the room was empty. Breathing very fast, I turned slowly back to the mirror.

There I was, still reflected in it, white and wide-eyed, and there, reflected beside me, was Violet. She was smiling brightly and had turned, both arms wrapped around the side of my torso, keeping herself pressed tightly against me.

She was very pretty, as only she had the right to be. Her skin was the same pale shade as mine, and she had long midnight black hair that hung down to the middle of her back. Where the light touched it, it turned to a dark violet color. Her eyes were a bright Amethyst, shining as brightly as my emerald greens ones would. She was wearing what looked to be lavender colored lipstick, and looked every bit the beautiful human reincarnation of her name.

I edged a bit closer to the glass, trying to get a better look. I was so entranced that I was surprised when my attention was pulled away from the image in the mirror. That was until I noticed that Violet was crying; smiling...but crying at the same time. We usually tried to ignore each other's thoughts, to give some semblance of privacy to each other, but curiosity got the better of me.

Her image was almost the exact same as mine, just aged a decade or so. What really caught my attention, were the wedding bands on our fingers and the slight bulge to her belly. We were both looking at each other with expressions that could only be love. For the first time in years, I couldn't help the tear that trickled down my face at the sight.

While I had been so focused on the here and now, and worrying about getting Violet a body. She had been dreaming of the future...one where we were in love and would happily live our lives together raising a family. I was so touched I couldn't even bring myself to make the joke about girls and sappy romantic endings...perhaps tomorrow.

'I love you, Vi. Always will too, I hope you know that.' I told her softly, as serious as I had been with her…well, that I could ever remember me being.

'I love you more than my own life, and I will always do whatever I can to make sure you are happy and become the greatest you can be.' she said, still sniffling and trying to get her eyes to stop flowing her metaphorical tears of joy.

How long we stood there, I didn't know. The reflections did not fade and I looked and looked until a distant noise brought me back to my senses. I knew I couldn't stay here any longer, I had to get back to my dorm before my absence was noticed. I tore my eyes away from Violet's face, whispering a quiet "I'll come back", more to the Violet in the mirror than the one in my head, and hurried from the room.

* * *

I couldn't eat the next morning. I had seen Violet and I would be seeing her again tonight. I was on hold with my plans for the most part until I started learning Occlumency, so I had over a week with nothing else to do. I just hoped I would once again be able to find the mirror.

Later that night, I tried retracing my steps from when I left the library to where I thought the room was. For nearly an hour I wandered around the dark passageways, getting more irritable as time went on.

'Harry, I can tell you are freezing.' Violet said as I hit another dead end corridor. 'Let's just forget it tonight and go back.'

'No! I just know it is here somewhere.' I hissed, with anger in my voice that I didn't mean to direct at Violet, causing her to withdraw back a bit. 'I'm sorry Vi, I didn't mean to yell at you. I am just frustrated with myself that I can't find it.'

'It's ok Harry.' She replied quietly. I could tell that it bothered her a tiny bit more than she let on.

'Hey, listen to me.' I told her softly as I came to a halt. 'Don't you think for one second that I was yelling at you ok? I'm just upset with myself that I didn't pay better attention to where I was going last night, and I'm sorry that I took it out on you. Will you forgive me?'

I could tell that her mood was starting to return to normal and I let my emotions fill with the same feeling of love that I had when I looked at her in the mirror last night, and let them swirl around Violet. 'Of course I forgive you Harry!' she smiled, still basking in my love for her. It was one of the things I would definitely miss when she got her own body, being able to share our emotions with each other so completely and freely.

I once again started my search for the mirror. I passed the ghost of a tall witch, who was gliding in the opposite direction, but saw nobody else. Just as I started to really notice how cold it actually was in the dark corridors, I spotted the suit of armor from last night.

'It's here! Yes!'

I pushed open the door, dropped the cloak from around my shoulders and practically ran to the mirror. There she was. Violet and I were once again embraced in a tight hold of each other, smiling as if nothing else in the world mattered.

For hours we sat in front of the mirror, until we noticed the light start to creep through the windows. I tore my eyes away from the mirror and quickly threw the cloak back over myself, quickly making my way back to my dorm to catch a few hours of sleep.

That third night I found my way much quicker than before. I was walking so fast I knew I was making more noise than was wise, but thankfully I didn't meet anyone on my way.

There she was once again, smiling and waving at me happily. I sank down to sit on the floor in front of the mirror, content to spend the rest of the night there.

'Do you think this mirror shows the future, Vi?' I asked her a few minutes later, still half entranced with the image in the mirror.

'I don't know.' Violet replied. 'I hope it does. There is nothing that I would desire more.'

'Desire…' I mumbled inside of my head to Violet, the word bringing with it a sense of Déjà vu to me. I took a couple of glances around the mirror, trying to figure out why that word stuck in my head. It was when I read the name inscribed on top of it that I finally figured it out.

"I show not your face but your heart's desire." I read out loud.

'So it doesn't show the future then?' Violet asked sadly, upset that her dream hadn't yet been confirmed as destined to succeed.

My reply was cut short by a voice from behind me.

"So…back again, Harry?"

I felt as though my insides had turned to ice. I slowly looked behind me. Sitting on one of the desks by the wall was none other than Albus Dumbledore. I must have walked straight past him…so desperate to get to the mirror, that I hadn't noticed him.

"I…I didn't see you, sir."

"Strange, how nearsighted being invisible can make you." Dumbledore said. I was slightly relieved to see he was at least smiling.

"So…" said Dumbledore, slipping off the desk to sit on the floor beside me. "You, like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised."

"I didn't know it was called that, sir." I answered honestly, still hoping I wasn't going to be expelled for being caught out of bounds.

"But I expect by now you've realized what it does?"

"Well...it…shows me the one thing I want above all else." I stumbled the words out of my mouth, not wanting to tell him the entire truth of what I really saw, but unable to think of a believable lie.

"Correct, Harry!" the headmaster beamed. "It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. However, this mirror will give us neither truth…nor knowledge. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible."

"So…does that mean that what someone sees in the mirror can never become true?" I asked, not bothering to correct his assumption on what I actually saw in the mirror.

"Everybody has different desires, my boy. Some completely possible, others…not so much. You must remember…it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that."

"Of course, sir." I answered.

"The mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Harry. I must ask you not to go looking for it again. If you ever _do_ run across it again…you will now be prepared. Now, why don't you put on that admirable cloak and head off to bed?"

Nodding my head, I stood up. "Sir…Professor Dumbledore? Can I ask you something?"

"Obviously, you've just done so." Dumbledore smiled. "You may ask me one more thing, however."

"What do you see when you look into the mirror?" I asked, not even realizing how personal of a question it was.

"I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks."

I stared at him…wool socks? Really?

'Perhaps there is some truth to him being barmy after all.' Violet giggled.

'Yeah no kidding.' I mentally chuckled. 'I highly doubt that is what he really sees though.'

"One can never have enough socks." Said Dumbledore, breaking from my mental conversation. "Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People keep insisting on giving me books. Now, off to bed with you. I trust you have things you need to do tomorrow."

I nodded my head, quickly throwing the invisibility cloak back over my body, and made my way hastily to my dorm.

'Too bad we won't be able to look at the mirror anymore.' Violet said longingly.

'Yeah, and Dumbledore will probably keep an eye out for it…to make sure we don't find it again.'

'There is only a handful of places that he could keep it that wouldn't leave it to chance that another student might run across it.' Violet said thinking hard for a moment. 'Who knows, he may even move it to the third floor corridor.'

'That might be a good bet.' I told her, thinking that her idea probably had a lot of merit. 'Don't worry, Vi. We will lay low for now…but before the end of the year, we will go find it and take it with us. I get a feeling that the mirror will be beneficial to our plan someday down the line.'

'Agreed.' Violet said as I slipped into my pajamas and climbed into bed. 'We will just wait for him to take his eyes away from the third floor and the mirror will be ours.'

We both laughed and smiled as plots and schemes of the future ran through our head before we drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

**AN: I have had a person ask about Harry's use of swear words. I like to think that there are some similarities from Harry's past that mirror that of my own. Like the Harry of my story, I was raised around a lot of yelling and cussing, and like the Harry in my story, it shows in our own vocabulary. Part of why I am writing it this way I admit is because I am used to it being a part of my own vocabulary, the other is that with the amount of verbal abuse from Vernon, I doubt Harry would not use foul language. I have kept his bad language more to the narration and not in his actual dialog with the other characters, mainly because my Harry understands that he would stand out in doing so, and he is trying to portray himself as someone easily overlooked.  
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**AN2: Ok, so my goal is to have a post on every Monday, as that is my only actual day off per week, but I decided to post this one for you guys a day early as I do have it done. As a form of bribery, the more reviewers I have for each chapter i post, the more likely it will be that I post the chapters early if they are already done, versus just holding on to them until Monday. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and keep and eye out for Chapter 5, it will very likely be the second-ish to last chapter for Harry's first year.**

**Edited: 4/14/14; Harry no longer uses a lamp in the library...instead he is using the Hand of Glory i magically forgot about! **


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Decided i would give you guys this chapter a bit early in thanks for so many reviews on my last chapter. I went into great detail on my version of Occlumency. For those who feel it a bit long winded, I apologize, for those who like an in depth look into the different branches of magic as i do. This chapter just manages to top the 10k word mark, and is my longest chapter ever, enjoy!  
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**Disclaimer is located at the beginning of Chapter 1.**

* * *

The week remaining before it was time for me to start my Occlumency training was spent studying as hard as I could. It was nice to not have to worry about anybody trying to keep track of my time off studying by myself. Like most of my magic based classes, Potions and Charms came really easy to me. I was able to cast each spell from my Charms book within the first few tries and my Potions brewing was really coming along nicely.

The only thing keeping me from easy brewing in class had been Snape breathing down my neck. Potions was very similar to cooking, and the Dursley's made sure I excelled at that by the time I was six. It was basically just paying attention to the 'recipe' and repeating the steps listed to perfection.

I had also spent some time learning new Defense Against the Dark Arts spells. To date, I had become proficient with the disarming spell, the stunning spell, the body bind, and the spell to wrap someone in ropes...of course there were quite a few spells from Charms that could be used in a duel as well, such as the levitation charm and the fire creating charm. It was slightly slower going without Alyssa there to guide me, but I was still able to figure it out on my own fairly quickly.

Finally the first Saturday of the New Year had arrived, and I was both excited and quite nervous about my upcoming meeting with Daphne's father. I wasn't so much worried about him attacking me, as even though the Greengrass family had all been in Slytherin for a while, the word around the castle was that they were never associated with Voldemort. They were reportedly a neutral family during the war. It was the fact that, even under a vow, the man would know by far more of my secrets that any other person not named Violet. According to the book I had read, it was almost impossible for someone to truly teach Occlumency without using Legilimency on them. The best way to learn to defend against Legilimency, is to actually have to defend against it.

As soon as curfew was over on the morning of the fourth of January, I dressed in a pair of my nicest robes, and I quickly slipped on my invisibility cloak and made my way from the dorm to the one-eyed witch statue on the third floor. I had decided to try and fly the tunnel that lead to Honeydukes as I didn't quite feel like being sweaty and dirty from the almost hour long walk it would take me normally.

The twins weren't lying, the path was a dangerous one when on broom, but future trips would make it easier as became more familiar with the path. It wasn't ten minutes later that I was sneaking out of the trapdoor in the cellar of Honeydukes. Making sure my cloak was covering me completely, I silently made my way up the stairs and, once the coast was clear, slipped into the opened shop.

I knew I wouldn't be able to floo out of here without permission while the store was open so that was out. I had to wait until a customer opened the door to enter the shop, before I could slip out behind him. I stepped into an alley and quickly stowed my invisibility cloak in my robes and pulled up the hood on my traveling cloak. I set a fast pace for The Three Broomsticks to use the public floo.

I quickly entered the building and headed straight to the fireplace. The pubs floo was available to the public if they had their own powder. I quickly pulled mine out and tossed in a pinch before stepping into the emerald green flames and quietly called out my destination, the name of which I had received in the letter from Daphne all those weeks ago. "Greengrass Manor!"

I was swept away in a rush of green flames, and moments later I found myself flat on my back in a richly decorated foyer.

'Very graceful Harry!' Violet giggled.

I quickly stood up and began to dust myself off. The room around me was spacious and was decorated in art. It was a large room but the bright colors gave it a friendly feeling. As my gaze turned toward a door that led farther into the manor, I spotted a middle-aged man smirking at my less than graceful entrance.

He had dark brown hair that was just barely starting to show gray. His eyes were the same ice-blue as his daughter's, but they had a hint of mischief in them as he stared at me. He was well built but of average height.

"I would suggest stepping out with your dominant foot first next time." the man said, taking a few steps towards me. "Welcome to my home, Mr. Potter. My name is Cyrus Greengrass, as I am sure you know, I am Daphne's father." he said warmly, reaching out to shake my hand.

"Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Greengrass. I must say you have a very nice home." I told him, shaking his hand in return.

"Please, call me Cyrus. If we are to be working together for at least the next half year or more, I don't see the need for such formalities. I apologize that my wife and youngest, Astoria, are unable to be here. My wife uses weekends to teach her the basic skills she will need at Hogwarts...reading...writing...that sort of stuff." Cyrus said, gesturing me to follow him from the entrance hall.

"Thank you sir, you can of course call me Harry. I am only eleven." I smiled to him. "It is understandable, an education is rather important."

"I have asked Daphne quite a bit about you, as I am not one to lightly accept a student. Occlumency is quite personal and takes serious dedication that, while not impossible, is most difficult to find in someone your age. What I hear from her however, is you are far smarter than someone merely of eleven years of age, Harry. Top of your class, if I am not mistaken?" he asked, leading me into a small sitting room. The room, like the rest of the house I had seen so far was decorated with bright colors and fine art. This room, being smaller than the foyer, had a much more personal and friendly feel to it.

"I must remember to thank Daphne for her kind words. If I remember correctly, she isn't very far behind me as far as brains goes. You have a very intelligent daughter, Cyrus." Daphne was in fact only two spots behind me as far as grades went, just behind the Granger girl from Gryffindor. However, I would be willing to bet that her knowledge was less book knowledge than Granger's but more practical to the real world.

"Yes, thankfully she is rather smart...takes after her mother of course." he smirked. "Of course, Occlumency can be a large help. While it is not the end all to learning that gives one an entire libraries worth of knowledge, it does help to have a clear mind. Which is what brings us to where we are now, is it not?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, we might as well get the business side of this out of the way. No point in letting it get in the way of learning." Cyrus said, reaching into his robe pocket and pulling out a roll of parchment.

"Are you familiar with magical contracts, Harry?" Cyrus asked curiously as he rolled the parchment out on the table in front of us, placing a sharp, black quill down beside it.

"I have read a bit about them." I answered him. "But I have yet to see one in person."

"This is of course Contract Parchment, with all of the details to our agreement already written out. The only thing it needs is for you to read it over carefully and, if you agree to the terms, sign it." Cyrus told me getting serious for a second. "Now, as I am sure you have read, most contracts are signed in blood, and this blood-quill will sting a bit when you sign with it. We will worry about that once you have read it over, however."

I nodded my head as I picked up the contract and began to carefully read over it. Thankfully, the contract had been written in fairly easy to understand terms, and it was pretty straight forward. I would be paying one hundred galleons per lesson. Lessons would be once a week during the school year, and twice per week during the summer.

I made sure to carefully read over the part that went on about the Unbreakable Vow that both parties must use to secure that any knowledge the other party gains during these lessons is kept quiet and not used against its owner.

I would have to leave a magical imprint of my vault key on the parchment once signed so that when it was delivered to Gringotts, my payments could be extracted. A payment of one hundred galleons would be removed from my vault and deposited into the Greengrass vault once per week during the school year and twice per week during summer. Once summer ended, payments would stop and any further lessons that were taken would have to be paid in person. This was done as there was no way of telling how many future lessons would be needed.

I read over the contract three times, just to be on the safe side, before I picked up the blood-quill and quickly signed my name to it. Just has Cyrus had warned me, I could feel a sharp, stabbing pain in the back of my hand that, thankfully, quickly faded. I quickly breathed a sigh of relief once we had both taken the magical vow that would keep either party from passing on any knowledge they gained during the lessons from each other, and from using that knowledge themselves as blackmail.

'Finally! Once we move past this step, I can finally start making some serious headway towards finding you a body!' I told Violet excitedly.

'Thank you, thank you, thank you so much Harry!' Violet squealed, for once too happy to even tell me how she was costing me too much time or money. Bout damn time she gave that argument up...now if I could just get her to stop whispering!

'You're welcome Vi. You know I would do anything for you.' I told her, causing her to blow me a kiss before I was interrupted from my thoughts by Cyrus, who had switched to his 'teacher' face apparently.

"Now, I am not sure what all you have read about Occlumency already, but I am going to start from the top to make sure you haven't missed anything." Cyrus began, as I noticed how easily he seemed to take command in a teaching roll.

"First think you need to understand, is what Occlumency can and cannot do. Occlumency is not some miracle magic that will allow you to enter some magical palace inside of your own mind, where you can read through dozens of books an hour, memorizing each word flawlessly. There will be no magical castles or library's that you can just throw up invisible wards around or have dragons flying around your head to protect your knowledge. That is all quite frankly...well a load of shit, to be honest."

I couldn't help the chuckled that escaped at his frankness on the subject, but was quick to stop when he continued. "The ultimate goal of Occlumency is to be able to detect and, either destroy or direct, a Legilimency attack, thus keeping your mind safe. While this may sound easy, don't let it fool you."

"First starting out you will find it almost impossible to even detect a legilimency attack, and it will likely take weeks to be able to do so. In order to do this you will need to start by learning to clear your mind. Your problem will be that once you learn this first step, you will not be able to control it. In trying to clear your conscious mind of your thoughts and emotions, you will also clear your senses from them too. The first month or so, you will likely be spending your time practicing Occlumency with the inability to see, hear, or even smell anything going on around you. This is also why you should make sure you are practicing each night in a secure location, preferable in your bed at night before you go to bed."

I had been taking notes of what Cyrus was telling me and he paused to make sure I was caught up before continuing. "You will eventually learn to separate your senses from your thoughts and emotions, making it possible to still interact with the world around you while you have your mind cleared. Once you have had even more practice and are able to grasp it, eventually you will be able to separate your thoughts and memories from your emotions, and eventually even separate individual thoughts and memories from each other, followed by separating individual emotions from one another. Your emotions will be one of the last things about Occlumency that you master. With magic, there are ways to strip you of your thoughts and memories and even take away your senses, but emotions are much harder to manipulate, and thus are harder to master with Occlumency."

I looked up from my notes. "Is this where Daphne is at? I have noticed that she still has her emotions shut down for the most part when in public."

"You are correct, Harry. I had only been teaching her for about six months before she started school, and she had progressed well enough to protect her thoughts from a Legilimens, but she still had a bit to go before she will be able to manipulate her emotions freely. You will need to keep your mind cleared at all times once you have mastered Occlumency as there is always a chance for your mind to be attacked. As a result, all of your emotions will be dulled until you can master separating them from not only your thoughts, but from one another as well. I would think that by now she should have learned to control her emotions and is merely continuing the public act of Ice Queen. After all, the labels placed upon us by others can often be used in our favor."

"Well, she is in the house of the cunning for a reason. She does seem to open up a bit more when there are not others around compared to when I first met her." While her Ice Queen act may have started out as not an act at all, and just a side effect of learning Occlumency, she was indeed smart enough to play the stereotype that the student body had so foolishly given her.

"Slytherin is supposed to be about ambition and cunning after all...not about blood purity as it is seen now. Anyhow, back to our lesson. Starting out, you will push out all thoughts and emotions from your conscious mind. Eventually you will be able to push out either your thoughts or your emotions. Then as you progress, you will be able to clear out individual memories, thoughts, or emotions. While you can practice this on your own, once you have the basics, you will still need to know how to detect and defend yourself against a Legilimency attack. Which you cannot do if you have not experienced them."

"You will of course need to practice on your own time as well if you expect to learn this within the next year, but while here I will be subjecting you to Legilimency attacks, we will start small of course, so that you can train your mind in detecting and either eliminating them, or eventually leading them to where you want them to go. It is when you can take a probe and direct it to a specific memory and suppress single emotions, thoughts, or memories, that you will be considered proficient in the arts of Occlumency."

"There are of course other things you can do with Occlumency that will earn you the title of master of the art. True masters will be able to protect their mind from obliviations, create false emotions and memories; making it even possible to lie under Veritaserum, or even plant false memories into the mind of another, although the last does take the use of Legilimency as well."

My hand had long since started to cramp, but I was determined to not miss a single note of what he had said to me. I knew that the book I had on the mind arts, didn't even cover half of what I had learned tonight, and Occlumency had already seemed hard enough to learn just from the book...now the task looked daunting, but I wasn't about to give up. I was determined to have completed the art before I started my second year, and master it by next Christmas.

"Now, I think we will leave this lesson here for today. I don't want to overload you. For homework, you will need to spend at least a half hour, hopefully an hour, of time each night before bed trying to clear your mind. Best to think of it as similar to meditation, we will not be able to move on until you can at least maintain a clear mind long enough for you to detect my probes. Once you can do that, we shall start. I will see you next Saturday to check your progress."

Taking that as my cue to make my return to Hogwarts, I stood up and once again shook Cyrus' hand. "I want to thank you again for teaching me, Cyrus. You don't know how much help this will be to me in the future."

"I don't know now...but I will likely have some idea once we begin training in earnest." Cyrus smiled playfully at me. I was worried about the high potential that he would learn about Violet, but I was at least safe with the knowledge there was nothing he could do with that information to hurt me. "Now Harry, I suggest you not be caught outside of Hogwarts, it is after all against the rules."

"Of course, sir. I have my ways." I smiled, heading towards the floo once we entered the foyer again.

Cyrus called to me just before I stepped into the emerald flames. "Harry...give my regards to my daughter would you?" he smiled.

I gave him a swift nod of my head as I called out my destination. "The Three Broomsticks." and made my way back to Hogwarts.

* * *

It took me the next couple of weeks before I was able to clear my mind. The first few times it had been quite disconcerting to say the least. Thankfully I was in my own bed. Not being able to interact with your surroundings in any way can be quite scary to be honest. I had finally managed to keep my mind cleared for the required amount a couple days after our third meeting. It was the last Saturday of January when I got to experience my first session of Legilimency from Cyrus.

"Alright, Harry. While you are still in the beginning stages of Occlumency your only sense that you will have while your mind is cleared is nothingness of course." Cyrus began after we had taken our normal seat in the small sitting room.

"While this stage is the hardest stage to work through, as it can be disorientating without your senses, it is also the best time to learn to detect a Legilimency attack. While in this state of nothingness, it will be like swimming in a sea of complete darkness. A Legilimency attack, while in this state, will appear as if a star is shining in the distance. The lighter or more intricate the probe the dimmer the star will be, the more power or forcefulness the attacker uses the brighter and easier the 'star' will be to recognize. Now, when you spot the star in the distance of your mind, I want you to basically just try and wrap the darkness of your mind around it, until the light has been extinguished. In the future, after you master this part of course, I will be teaching you how to 'grab' onto the probe and direct it to where you want it to go. Now, are you ready to give this a try?" he asked, raising his wand in front of him.

'Good luck Harry.' Violet whispered to me.

'I thought you had finally given up on all of the whispering.' I teased her as I nodded my head in response to Cyrus.

"Very well, I want you to clear your mind."

I took a few seconds to calm myself and concentrate on concentrating on nothing…yeah, it took me a while to understand it myself. Once I had pushed all thoughts and emotions from my mind, my mind was once again shrouded in nothingness. I never even heard Cyrus' whispered "Legilimens!"

It didn't take me long before I could spot the dim light Cyrus had described to me off in the distance. However, trying to attack it and extinguish it wasn't as easy as he made it sound. At the same time I was being bombarded with memories of my past…

* * *

Cyrus Greengrass watched as the boy in front of him settled down and began to clear his mind. If he had to admit, he was curious to see what he was going to find. It is not that he believed that the normal eleven year old boy would have anything worth hiding, but most eleven year old boys wouldn't have been worried about an Unbreakable Vow if they had no secrets.

Once Cyrus notice the boy had relaxed, he calmly pointing his wand at the boys head with a soft, "Legilimens!" Immediately he was bombarded with memories flashing by…

_In front of him was a young Harry, who looked to be around six or seven years old. He was currently hiding in the top of a tree with a large bulldog jumping up from the base of it while trying to bite his leg. Cyrus could already tell that the dog had managed to get ahold of the boy a time or two already. Watching the boy through the kitchen window was a group of four people who were all laughing at the young boy's plight. There was two rather large people, a man and a woman, each with a mustache, who appeared to be related, a horse faced woman with a long neck, and a younger boy who was also quite large. Before Cyrus could see much more the scene shifted._

_A five year old Harry ran inside the same house Cyrus had seen from the last memory. "Boy! What the hell have I told you about running in this house?" the same large man with the walrus mustache from the last memory boomed as the boy ran into the sitting room where he and, presumably, his wife were watching television._

"_I'm sorry! I just wanted to show you my report card. Look!" the younger Harry excitedly said as he passed it off to the sour looking woman. _

_The boy's smile dimmed a bit as her expression darkened as she read over it. "What did you do you freak? You think you can trick us with your freakishness, boy?" she shrieked at the now terrified child. "I bet you had a big laugh at making poor Diddykins barely pass his classes! Well, I will not stand you or your freakishness in this house!"_

_The woman grabbed the boy by his ear before throwing him into a cupboard under the stairs. She locked the door just as the scene shifted again._

_This time, the boy laying in the cupboard, but Cyrus had no way of knowing if it was related to the last memory or not._

"_How are you feeling, Harry?" came the voice of a female. Cyrus was confused as there was clearly nobody else in the cupboard with the boy, there was barely even room for the boy alone._

"_It hurts, Vi!" the young boy cried. Cyrus wanted to feel sorry for the boy, but he was too confused to even know where to begin. While it was not uncommon to hear thoughts while using Legilimency on someone's mind, it was completely unheard of to hear someone talking to somebody else in their thoughts. Cyrus had clearly heard the girl speaking earlier, and had also heard the boy reply, but the boy had clearly never opened his mouth to do so._

"_I know it does Harry." The female voice soothed the boy. "I wish I could make the pain go away, but I promise that one day they will pay for the way they treat you."_

"_Why do they hate me so much?" the boy asked, once more not opening his mouth to reply to the girl. The only way that Cyrus knew of such a thing being possible, would be if the girl talking was also inside the boys head…that should be impossible as far as Cyrus knew._

"_They are just jealous of you. They call you a freak because you are special and they are just plain and ordinary." The girl seemed to really care for the boy in Cyrus's opinion. "I know how special you truly are. You will never be a freak to me Harry, and I will always love you no matter what!"_

_The young boy cracked a smile as he wiped a few tears from his eyes. Once again, without opening his mouth, he spoke. "I love you too, Vi. Promise me that you will never leave me?" he asked._

"_I promise, Harry." Cyrus heard the girl respond as he ended his Legilimency attack. Cyrus could only sit confused for a few minutes, wondering how the hell someone's own family could treat them so horribly, and more importantly…just who or what was inside of Harry's head with him. He knew the boy likely wouldn't want to discuss it, so he decided he would leave it alone for now._

* * *

"That was a lot harder than I had hoped." I said, panting kind of hard from having my mind assaulted. "Everything went by so quick it was hard to concentrate on ending the probe."

"Now you understand why Occlumency takes so long to fully learn." Cyrus said, still looking deep in thought. "While the memories appear to go by quickly, the attacker still sees everything that happened in the memory. "

"So...you saw those memories even with my mind cleared?" I asked warily.

"Clearing your mind, while it does have its uses, does not protect your mind against a Legilimency attack." Cyrus said, snapping back into teacher mode, repeating this part of the lesson to me. "You're conscious mind is cluttered with thoughts, memories, and emotions...it also makes detecting Legilimency attacks nearly impossible for beginners. You need the clear mind in order to spot the, proverbial, 'star in the sky'. As you become more proficient in the art, you will be able to keep your mind cleared at all times."

"Where clearing your mind really becomes useful is once you are able to manipulate your thoughts and emotions, whether it is suppressing or creating them. With a clear mind, it becomes easier to concentrate on specific tasks, focus your intent while using spells, and creating certain emotions that fuel certain spells. The Patronus spell for example, which wards off Dementors, is powered by happy memories, and thus happy emotions. Someone proficient in Occlumency can merely create the feeling of happiness to fuel the spell much easier. It is also the same for spells that are fueled from negative emotions, or dark magic as the ministry classifies it."

"A true master of the art, will direct the Legilimency probe to the memories they want the attacker to see. This route will fool the attacker into believing that you have not defended your mind and that the information they found is the information they are looking for."

"I think I understand." I told him finally. The ultimate idea was not to let your attacker know you were an Occlumens, but tricking him into seeing only the information you want him to believe is true.

"Good. I think we will leave it there for today." Cyrus told me, leading me back to the floo. Just before I could step in, Cyrus spoke to me again. "I know you likely don't want pity, Harry. So I am not going to give it to you...just know that if you ever want to talk about your home life, or if you ever need help...I will be here to listen or help."

I nodded my head to him, but didn't answer him as I threw in my floo powder and was once again back in Hogsmeade. While the gesture was nice, and appreciated, I would handle my own problems when the time came.

* * *

The next few months were spent learning spells with Alyssa, practicing Occlumency, and generally trying to increase my skills in magic. I had been making great progress as far as Ancient Runes were concerned. Of course that didn't mean I had been able to do anything practical with it yet.

As it turned out, Runes had a ton of theoretical learning before you could get to the practical side of things. It was basically like learning an entirely new language...except you had to learn it for each language that Runes were prominent in. The most common languages that used Runes were Norse, Egyptian, Latin, Greek, and Sumerian. Each one had their own Runic Alphabet that you had to know inside and out before you could start building your own Runic Sequences, Clusters, or Arrays.

I was finally starting to really understand the ins and outs of each of the alphabets. I had long sense been able to memories the five major alphabets and really only had to finish learning how each rune reacted and interacted with the others when put together. For example, the Norse Rune for strength combined with the Latin rune for mind could potentially increase your willpower, but if you would combine it with the Egyptian or Norse Rune for the mind, it would increase your muscle memory, which increases your reflexes. That was just one of thousands of possible sequences and variables that I had to know before I could do anything complex with Runes.

It was already April by the time I had decided it was safe to start looking into the forbidden corridor on the third floor. My Occlumency had been coming along well enough, I was sure I could at least keep my secrets safe while in the castle. While I couldn't hold anyone out who wanted to force their way inside of my mind yet, I knew that anything that Dumbledore or Snape would do, would be strictly subtle or light and I doubted they would try to force the secrets from my mind.

Using Legilimency on students was illegal, and I knew they would be very careful with regards to using it. That didn't mean I was going to slip up and tell the authorities they were doing it, that would mean me having to admit I was learning Occlumency.

I had finally been able to clear my mind almost two months ago without taking my senses with it. I had still yet to be able to separate my emotions when I did so, and knew it would likely take a few more months at the least. I had just started being able to separate my memories from one another, but i was still quite a ways away from being able to direct any Legilimency probe towards a specific memory. I did however, finally start getting better at forcing out light Legilimency probes from my head with little problems, which is what Snape and Dumbledore would use. I was hoping to start training on medium level attacks soon.

So with my mind safe, at least from those inside of the castle, I decided to start exploring the third floor so that when the time came, I would be able to retrieve the mirror. I waited until my dorm was asleep before slipping out of my bed and throwing my invisibility cloak over my shoulders.

Thankfully the dark halls were relatively empty, only having to dodge one prefect on my way to the third floor corridor. I cast the only detection spell I knew at the door, granted it was a very basic one that only looked for the most basic of wards. I figured that in a school full of curious children, Dumbledore couldn't possibly be dumb enough to put anything seriously harmful. I was however surprised that my reading showed that the door was not warded at all.

'Weird.' Violet murmured to me.

'No kidding. You would at least think he would put up some sort of notification ward or something.' I told her staring at the door oddly. 'It is almost as if he doesn't care if anyone opens the door.'

'It was kind of odd that he would announce the third floor at all. Seems like there would be less chance of someone actually wandering down here accidentally than there is with curiosity flowing.'

'Well, the curiosity certainly is there. I wonder what kind of protections they have set up in here.' I told her pulling out my wand.

'Only one way to find out I guess.' She said, turning her focus onto the door.

"Alohamora." I incanted quietly as the door unlocked and I reached for it pulling it open. 'Knowing Dumbledore it is probably something incredibly dangerous to keep in a school, like a three-headed d…'

I stopped in the doorway, jaw hanging wide open. Of course it would happen to be a Cerberus on the other side. 'Why the hell do I have to be right all the time, Vi?' I asked incredulously.

'I don't know, but at least you have a future in Divination if you want!' she giggled, not seemingly as bothered by the fact there was an eight-hundred pound, three-headed monster in front of me…who just happened to notice I was there. I knew I only had a few more seconds before I had to leave, so I took a quick look around the room. There wasn't really much in here except for a trapdoor under the beast itself.

'Looks like we will have to find a way past him if we want to explore further.' Violet said as I quickly closed the door and relocked it.

'Looks like it is back to the library then.' I told her, reapplying my cloak and making my way back to the dorm. There wasn't much else I was going to be able to do tonight.

* * *

Unfortunately, I must have searched almost every creature book in the library over the next two weeks and still had yet to even find a mention of a Cerberus. I knew of them only from the Muggle world, but I didn't know how much of that was real or just fiction. I knew the Muggles believed that the Cerberus was a guard in the underworld, but if Dumbledore was keeping the entrance to that inside the castle then I wasn't coming back next year.

It was actually thanks to Longbottom and his two followers that I caught a break…surprising to say the least. I was so focused on the book stacks that I hadn't even noticed that, strangely, the gamekeeper Hagrid was there in the next stack over. That was until I heard Ron Weasley yell out to him.

"Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?" the red head said, not bothering to watch his voice.

Hagrid strolled out from the book isle and moved closer to their table, a large book hidden behind his back. I moved to the end of the stacks to eavesdrop, but not far enough out that they would see me. Absently, I wondered how and when the trio became friendly with the large man.

"Jus' lookin'." The large man said. His voice sounded very shifty and even the trio had managed to pick up on it. 'An' what're you lot up ter? Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?"

"Oh, we found out who he is ages ago." Ron said impressively. "And we know what that dog's guarding, it's a Sorcerer's St–"

"Shhhh!" Hagrid said loudly as I leaned in even closer. Now interested beyond belief. It seemed as if I wasn't the only one to find the dog and obviously Hagrid knew something about it. "Don' go shoutin' about it, what's the matter with yeh?"

"There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact." Longbottom said, "About what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy –"

'Fluffy?' Violet laughed maniacally. 'Who the hell named that beast Fluffy?'

I couldn't help but laugh at the irony of it all. 'Well Dumbledore is the only one eccentric enough, but judging by the book on how to raise dragons Hagrid has behind his back, it could be him as well.'

'You wanna buy me a dragon and name it Whisker? Pwease!?' I couldn't help but laugh…and hope that she wasn't serious.

"SHHHHH!" Hagrid said again. "Listen…come an' see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin', mind, but don' go rabbitin about it in here, students aren' s'pposed ter know. They'll think I've told yeh."

"See you later then, Hagrid." Granger told the large man before he shuffled off and out of the library.

'Just to make sure, they were talking about a Sorcerer's Stone right?' Violet asked me curiously as the trio mentioned a stone again while discussing what Hagrid might have been hiding behind his back.

'I think so…although, I've never heard of any Flamel before.' I told her. 'Isn't the thing supposed to turn metals into gold and give the user immortality?'

'Yes, according to the Muggle legends anyhow. I bet it would be useful to have one laying around. I know you have enough gold in your family vault to give you a great life, but you are still nowhere near as rich as people like the Malfoy's and the Avery's.'

'I definitely think I could find use for one if we had it.' I laughed. 'Right now though, I am more worried about seeing if Hagrid knows anything about how to get past a Cerberus.'

'Well, if those three were able to get answers out of him, I am sure you will have no problem.' She said, making me smile a bit at her confidence.

I turned my attention back to the trio just as Weasley came back a minute later, slamming a pile of books down on the table the three of them had been sharing.

"Dragons!" he tried to whisper, but not soft enough to keep me from hearing it. "Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragon! Look at these: Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland; From Egg to Inferno, a Dragon Keeper's Guide."

"He can't be seriously thinking about raising a dragon, can he?" Granger asked. Personally I had to agree with her for once. Hagrid, while he seemed friendly enough, was a bit dim, but he couldn't possibly be that dumb. I mean, doesn't he live in a wooden hut for Christ sake?

"But it's against our laws!" Weasley exclaimed. I had only had two classes with the Gryffindor's this year, but it was enough to get the impression that Weasley was quite lazy when it came to his studies…I was shocked he had read enough to know dragon laws. "Dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709, everyone knows that. It's hard to stop Muggles from noticing us if we're keeping dragons in the back garden…anyway, you can't tame dragons, it's dangerous! You should see the burns Charlie's got off wild ones in Romania!"

Not everybody knew that…hell I didn't, but I wasn't exactly concerned with dragon laws as of late. I guess I shouldn't underestimate Weasley quite so much in the future. He apparently knows more than I had guessed.

"But there aren't wild dragons in Britain, are there?" Granger asked, thankfully as I had been wondering the same thing myself.

"Of course there are." Longbottom answered. "Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a hard job hushing them all up, I can tell you. Our kind have to keep putting spells on the Muggles who've spotted them, to make them forget." He said, talking about the Obliviation Spell. I had read about it in the mind arts book. I wanted to learn how to do it myself, as it sounded extremely useful, but I hadn't been able to find any information on how to cast it.

As the trio left the library, I went back to my dorm to grab my Invisibility Cloak, I knew I would be following them to their meeting with Hagrid later to see if I couldn't get some answers for myself.

* * *

It was about an hour before curfew that I noticed the trio headed for the front door to the castle. I had been hiding underneath my invisibility cloak near the entrance to the dungeons waiting for them. I placed a silencing charm on my shoes and quietly followed them out the door and to the gamekeepers hut down near the Forbidden Forest. Once they had settled inside of the hut, I went to the side and put my ear up close to the window to listen in.

"So…yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?" the large man asked the trio.

"Yes." It was Longbottom who answered. "We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Sorcerer's Stone apart from Fluffy."

I watched as Hagrid frowned at them. "O' course I can't!" he said. "Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn' tell yeh if I could. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts…I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' Fluffy."

"Oh, come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you do know. You know everything that goes on around here." Hermione said, and I had to be a little bit impressed at how cunning she was…but Hagrid, the poor bloke, didn't seem to very hard to manipulate from what I had seen.

'Will definitely come in handy later then.' Violet said as I nodded in agreement.

"We only wondered who had done the guarding, really." Hermione went on. I couldn't help but wonder how she ended up in Gryffindor. She would be much better suited for Ravenclaw…Slytherin if she wasn't also Muggleborn. "We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you." Clever girl…to bad she had such a bossy attitude. She was rather smart in many ways.

Hagrid's chest swelled at her words. Longbottom and Weasley were beaming at her brightly. "Well, I don' s'pose it could hurt ter tell yeh that…let's see…he borrowed Fluffy from me…then some o' the teachers did enchantments…Professor Sprout – Professor Flitwick – Professor McGonagall…" he was ticking them off on his fingers. "Professor Quirrell – an' Dumbledore himself did somethin', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape."

"Snape?" Weasley blurted out.

"Yeah, yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helps protect the Stone, he's not about ter steal it."

I could see Longbottom, Weasley, and Granger share a look that said 'Oh, yes he is!'. Honestly, it didn't surprise me that they would make that assumption, although I seriously doubted it was true. The Sorting Hat had all but told me that Dumbledore had taught Snape everything he knows about Occlumency and Legilimency. Which means that Dumbledore obviously knew most of, if not all, of Snape's secrets.

Hell, I had only been doing it for three months with Cyrus and he had probably seen most of the shit that I've done in my life. I could tell he really wanted to talk to me about it at times, but thankfully he hadn't brought it up. I figured he was waiting until summer. Both so he had the time and because we would have known each other for over six months already by then.

But, if Dumbledore knew Snape's secrets and still trusted the man, as he clearly does to let the man get away with his treatment of the students, then I doubted Snape was out to steal anything. Dumbledore may be an eccentric, and slightly batty, old man, but he was still a very powerful wizard.

"You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy. Aren't you, Hagrid?" Longbottom eventually asked. "And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?"

"Not a soul knows except me an' Dumbledore." Hagrid said proudly.

"Well, that's something." I could just hear Longbottom mumble to the others. "Hagrid, can we have a window open? I'm boiling." I almost backed away from my window, not wanting to risk being caught, until I heard Hagrid's reply.

"Can't Neville, sorry." Said Hagrid. I noticed him glance towards the fire. The trio must have noticed it too.

"Hagrid…what's that?" I heard Granger ask. Sitting in the fireplace was a large black egg. I could easily put two and two together, but I thought my math must be off because this time it seemed to equal a dragon's egg. And to think I had given the big oaf a bit more credit than that.

"Ah…" Hagrid said, fiddling nervously with his beard. "That's er…"

"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" said Ron, crouching over the fire to get a closer look at the egg. "It must've cost you a fortune."

"Won it, actually." Said Hagrid. "Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."

'Won it?' Violet asked. 'This can't be a coincidence. Nobody just happens to carry around dragon eggs when they are out drinking.'

'It does seem suspicious if you ask me.' I answered. It was awfully suspicious. 'I wouldn't be surprised if it was whoever was after the stone was the one who gave him the egg. After all, out of everyone who knows about its location, Hagrid would be the easiest to con information out of.'

'Well, I think we can use the dragon to our advantage.' Violet said, a plan formulating in her head.

"But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?" Granger asked, as I turned my attention back to the inside of the hut.

"Well, I've bin doin' some readin'" said Hagrid, pulling a large book from under his pillow. "Got this outta the library…Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit. It's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in here. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it only a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' see here…how ter recognize diff'rent eggs. What I got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them."

He looked pleased with himself, but at least Hermione caught onto the same problem I saw. "Hagrid, you live in a wooden house." She said, but Hagrid didn't appear to be listening. He was humming merrily as he stoked the fire.

"Wonder what it's like to have a peaceful life." I could hear Weasley sigh. I had been wondering the same thing for the last like eight years. Living with the Dursley's was anything but peaceful.

* * *

The trio had left for the castle again shortly after that, but I had taken to keeping an eye on them for two reasons. For one, I was hoping that they would lead me to the answer on how to get past Fluffy; Two, and more importantly, Violet wouldn't shut up about getting to see a dragon hatch. Of course, what Violet wants…she usually ends up getting.

Then, one breakfast, Longbottom's owl brought him another note. Thankfully, the Hufflepuff table was next to the Gryffindor one, and I had taken to sitting directly behind the trio, eagerly listening in all the time. I could just hear Longbottom whisper to the other two.

"It's hatching." Was all he said. It didn't take a genius for me to work out what he was talking about.

Unfortunately, I didn't share the next lesson with them and I feared they would just skip theirs and head down to Hagrid's hut without my knowing. I followed them as they were leaving the great hall, and thankfully Hermione put my fears to rest.

"Hermione, how many times in our lives are we going to see a dragon hatching?"

"We've got lessons, we'll get into trouble, and that's nothing to what Hagrid's going to be in when someone finds out what he's doing –"

"Shut up!" Longbottom whispered heatedly. At first I had feared he had caught on to me listening in to their conversation…that was until I noticed he was staring straight at Malfoy when he said it. By the large smile on his face I assumed that Malfoy had heard the same thing I had. He was after all only a few feet further away that I was. The trio went silent and hurried off towards their next lesson.

"You heard the same thing I did right?" I asked Malfoy as I walked over to him.

"About that great oaf and a dragon?" he smiled, seeming to not even care that he was talking to a mere 'half-blood', as he usually would. "Father will have him out of here before the month is out."

"Slytherin's share the next period with the Gryff's correct?" I asked, already knowing they did as the Hufflepuff's had class with the claws next.

"Herbology." He answered. "I think they have a free period after, however, so I am going to follow them when they go down there."

"I believe I may join you." I smirked to him, surprised we hadn't yet started to argue. "Who knows, we might even get to see the trio get into some trouble of their own."

"Of course…but that doesn't mean I can't hold it over their heads for a while first…make them sweat it out for a while." I chuckled with him and he laughed. I never knew the blonde had an ounce of cunning in him…seems he is learning.

After Charms, I quickly made my way towards the front lawn where the first year Slytherin's and Gryffindor's would be returning from the greenhouses. I spied the trio branching off towards the forest, with Malfoy stalking behind them. I threw over my invisibility cloak and made to follow them.

Malfoy had taken to spying in a crack in the curtains, and by the time I had found one on the other side of the house to look into, Hagrid already had a shaking egg set onto the kitchen table. All of a sudden, there was a scraping noise and the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped onto the table. It wasn't exactly pretty in my book; I thought it looked more like a crumpled, black umbrella. Its spiny wings were huge compared to its skinny jet body. It had a long snout with wide nostrils, the stubs of horns and bulging, orange eyes.

'Ooooh, it's so cute!' Violet squeeled.

'Cute?' I asked incredulously. 'Vi, please don't tell me your turning into Hagrid.'

'Hush you!' she scolded me. 'Look at him. He's so tiny and adorable!'

'Well, please don't start wanting to own one of your own.' I begged her as the tiny dragon set Hagrid's beard on fire as it belched. Violet just stuck her tongue out at me.

"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid said, making me chuckle as he sounded close to Violet from a second ago.

Hagrid reached out a hand to stroke the dragon's head. It snapped at his fingers, showing pointed fangs. "Bless him, look, he knows his mommy!" said Hagrid happily.

"Hagrid." Said Granger. "How fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?"

Hagrid was about to answer her when the color drained from his face. He leapt to his feet and ran to the window that Malfoy had been spying through.

"What's the matter, Hagrid?" Longbottom asked.

"Someone was lookin' through the gap in the curtains…it's a kid. He's runnin' back up ter the school."

Longbottom and Weasley bolted to the door and looked out. I couldn't see from my side of the house, but I knew the trio wouldn't have a hard time recognizing Malfoy's blonde hair.

* * *

I knew that if I was going to get the information I needed, I would have to act fast. I doubted Malfoy would sit on his information for too long, and I knew once Hagrid was caught with the dragon, he might not even be around for me to ask. So it was the next night that I found myself walking down towards Hagrid's hut an hour before curfew.

Once outside his hut, I took off my invisibility cloak, I hadn't wanted to be spotted coming here, and knocked on his door after I put it into my robe pocket. Immediately, loud barking came from inside, and I could hear someone moving about frantically. After a minute I could hear the lock on the door being withdrawn before the door opened just wide enough for Hagrid's big bearded face to split through it.

"Harry!" He seemed a bit shocked when he saw me. Hell, I was shocked that he knew me. "I s'prised ter see yeh."

"Hello, Mr. Hagrid." I said politely. "How do you know my name? Have we met before?" I asked, knowing that we hadn't…well at least that I could remember.

"Aye, though I ain' bin this close ter yeh since you was a baby." The big man smiled. "I brought yeh to Dumbledore meself, the nigh' yeh was left at yer aun' and uncle's."

Thankfully Hagrid missed the brief dark look that crossed my face.

'Dumbledore…' I said, too mad to even say more.

'That twinkle-eyed bastard is the one who sent you there?' Violet said, even more upset than I was. 'He was the one responsible for you being treated as a slave for almost ten years…He will be lucky if I don't poison his food in the morning!'

I was mad and confused. Confused that the Headmaster of all people had placed me in that hell, and mad that people knew I was there and nobody even thought to check up on me. Thankfully, I was able to push it out of my mind for now and concentrate on the conversation with Hagrid.

"It is nice to meet you again then Mr. Hagrid." I told him, putting on a fake smile. "Would it be possible to come in and talk for a while?"

Hagrid looked nervous and kept glancing around. "I don' know if it is a grea' time fer that, Harry. I'm awful busy at tha mo'. Per'aps we can meet up a' tha castle in tha morn'?"

"I'm not here to get your into trouble, Hagrid." I told him, putting on my best smile. "I had heard Longbottom and Weasley talking about a dragon and I really wanted to see a real one. As you know I was raised in the Muggle world and I didn't even know they existed outside of legend."

Hagrid looked at me really nervous, and was even starting to sweat. "Yeh be promisin' yer not gon' say nothin'?" he finally asked.

"I give you my word." I promised him, knowing that if Malfoy already knew, I wouldn't have to say anything at all.

I wasn't actually interested in seeing the Dragon…well Violet was…but I was going to use it to get onto the topic of Fluffy and see if I couldn't find out how to get past him.

"He really is beautiful." I lied to Hagrid after we had talked for a few minutes. "I bet he is going to grow up pretty quick. Are you going to be able to handle taking care of him?"

Hagrid smiled when I agreed with him that a blood dragon was beautiful…the man was delusional. "O' course, Harry. Norber' isn' tha on'y large creature i've bin 'round b'fore."

"What kind of creature could come close to the size of a dragon, Hagrid?" I asked, trying to steer the conversation towards Fluffy.

"Well, it's a secret O' course." Hagrid said. "But I 'ave a three-headed dog named Fluffy. Righ' cute fella 'e is I tell yer."

"A Cerberus? Wow!" I said, moving in for the kill. "I have heard about them from Muggle literature. They are supposedly employed by Hades as his loyal watchdog. They guard the gates that grant access and exit to the underworld. They are said to allow only the spirits of the dead to freely enter the underworld, but never allow them to leave. It must be super hard for you to handle him."

"Nah. Fluffy always bin easy ter handle. Real softy he is. Jus' play 'im a bit o' music and he falls straigh' ter sleep." Jackpot! Hagrid didn't even seem to notice he had just told me a huge secret. I kind of felt bad that the big fella was so easy to manipulate. He seemed like a nice enough guy…helping Dumbledore leave me with the Dursley's aside of course.

"I should probably get back to the castle before curfew, Hagrid." I told him finishing the tea he had poured me. The rock cakes I had left untouched after the first bite. "Wouldn't want to get detention with Filch."

Hagrid just chuckled. "Aye. It wouldn' be fun ter get in ter no trouble. It was grea' seein yer again Harry. Yer welcome ter come an' visit again sometime yeh know."

"Thank you for the invite, Hagrid. I am sure I will see you around." I told him as I made my way out of the hut, throwing my cloak back on once he had closed the door behind me.

'Now we know how to get past Fluffy. All that is left is to go down the trapdoor and find the stone and the mirror.' Violet said, ecstatic that we had finally figured out how to get past him.

'All that is left is wait for Dumbledore to not be around and then we make our move.' I told her happily as I made my way back to my dorm.

* * *

**AN: Next chapter will see Harry going down the trapdoor. From here on out, the story should start to pick up in action. It was kind of hard to really have Harry do much without him knowing how to protect his secrets. Now that he has a firm footing in the art, he will be able to start really making some progress. There should be one more chapter in Harry's first year, followed by one chapter for summer before second year starts. For those who wanted a bit more in the way of interaction between Harry/Malfoy and Harry/Longbottom, Weasley, and Granger; you will get more of that starting second year. There really wasn't a legitimate reason for them to interact as Harry is still pretty much a fly on the wall at Hogwarts. **

**I have a challenge for you reviewers. Whoever correctly predicts how Quirrell will die in the next chapter will receive a PM giving a sneak peek on who i plan to kill off in year two! I hope you all have enjoyed your Easter, and don't forget to please comment and review! Us authors really do enjoy them!  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Another record chapter length for me! I decided to post this chapter for you guys a few days earlier than usual due to time conflicts I will be having next week. I am flying out of town next Friday morning and headed to Talladega, Alabama for race weekend with my father. That means that i will unfortunately be losing all of Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and over half of Monday for writing. My next chapter will either be posted this coming Thursday night, if it is ready, or it will be late Monday/early Tuesday. Either way, either the next chapter, or the one following, will be a few days delayed in it's posting. So I would like to apologize in advanced. **

**As far as this chapter goes, there was a lot of important stuff happening, and I can only hope that I didn't screw it up.**

**Disclaimer: Some dialog and scene's from this chapter are from or based on parts from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone...we all know who owns it.**

* * *

Unfortunately it was already time for the end of year exams and Dumbledore had yet to leave the castle for any length of time. As usual he was still present for every meal in the great hall. I was starting to get worried that I was just going to have to risk it with him still in the castle.

My Occlumency lessons with Cyrus had been progressing fantastically. I had already learned how to separate my memories from one another and was even making progress on separating my emotions when I cleared my mind as well. I had progressed far enough that I had been able to destroy medium strength Legilimency probes and direct probes to memories I wanted them to see. I was hoping to do the same to a full force attack within weeks and progress to actually feeding them different emotions by the end of summer.

I had carried on with my tutoring from Alyssa up until just before exams. I knew she would be too busy with newts to continue our arrangement next year, but I had a firm enough grounding in magic by now that I would be able to learn on my own in the future.

I had been wandering around the courtyard outside when I finally caught the break I was looking for. I just happened to notice Longbottom, Weasley, and Granger running back from Hagrid's hut, back into the school.

'Wonder what those three are up too?' Violet asked, watching the trio run towards the front doors, looking worried.

'Who knows with those three.' I replied while contemplating following them to find out.

'Longbottom looks like someone is about to kill off his gran.' Violet giggled. I couldn't help but chuckle and wonder why she found that so funny.

'You think we should follow them and find out what they are up too?' I asked her, digging my invisibility cloak out from my inside robe pocket. I was too paranoid to just leave it laying around inside my trunk.

'If nothing else, it might be entertaining!' Violet said enthusiastically as I threw on my cloak and made to follow them.

The trio stopped just inside the front doors before they stopped.

"We've got to go to Dumbledore." Longbottom said frantically, not knowing I was only feet away from them. "Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy, and it was either Snape or Voldemort under that cloak...it must've been easy, one he'd got Hagrid drunk. I just hope Dumbledore believes us. Firenze might back us up if Bane doesn't stop him. Where's Dumbledore's office?"

'Firenze? Bane?' Violet asked 'Wonder who they are?'

'Not sure.' I told her. 'Those names don't sound human though. Perhaps it is someone they met in the Forbidden Forest while on detention.'

'I still can't believe those three thought they would be able to sneak that dragon out of the castle.' Violet giggled. 'They don't even have an invisibility cloak or know how to cast a disillusionment charm.'

I couldn't help but smile as I remembered back. Malfoy hadn't waited more than a couple weeks before he made his move, and the three Gryff's thought that they would beat him to the punch by getting rid of the dragon first. Of course, they were all captured by Filch coming down from the Astronomy Tower by Filch. It made it even funnier that Malfoy had been caught as well.

The whole of Gryffindor had been pissed at the trio for months because they had lost one-hundred and fifty points. Weasley had gotten it worst of all as he was still supposed to be in the hospital wing after getting bitten by baby Norbert. Of course, Longbottom didn't mind sharing that Malfoy had almost wet himself out in the Forbidden Forest while serving their detention.

'I still don't understand who thought it was a good idea to send four first year students into the Forbidden Forest in the middle of the night with only the gamekeeper, who can't even use magic, to defend them.' Violet said, making us both wonder about the sanity of the wizarding world as a whole.

'I stopped trying to understand the world years ago.' I told her dryly. 'Seems there was only a small amount of common sense to go around in it, and I am just thankful I managed to get a large chunk of it.'

'Please!' Violet joked. 'I am the one who has all the common sense, you are just leeching it from me!'

'You're right.' I smirked. 'But since I have all the brains, you get paid back extra.'

'Ha...Ha...Ha...' Violet deadpanned. 'I hope you know, you still ain't funny Mister!'

'Must be borrowing your sense of humor too, then.' I mumbled, turning my attention back to the trio as McGonagall started to approach them.

'I heard that!'

What are you three doing inside?" She asked sternly. She had a large pile of books tucked under her arm.

"We want to see Professor Dumbledore." Granger said, rather bravely if the glare on McGonagall's face was anything to go by.

"See Professor Dumbledore?" McGonagall repeated, as though this was a very fishy thing to want to do. "Why?"

I noticed Longbottom swallow nervously. "It's sort of secret." he said, causing McGonagall's nostrils to flare.

'He needs to work on his lying skills.' Violet chuckled. I nodded my head in silent agreement.

"Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago." she said coldly. "He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off for London at once."

That got my attention! Finally, after months of waiting, the coast was going to be clear!

'I wonder why he flew instead of just apparating or using the floo.' Violet wondered.

'I don't care! The old goat is just crazy.' I said in jubilation. 'What matters is the old goat is gone, and we are free to go down the trapdoor.'

"He's gone?" Weasley asked frantically. "Now?"

"Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizard, Weasley, he has many demands on his time."

"But this is important!" Longbottom interrupted her.

"Something you have to say is more important than the Ministry of Magic, Mr. Longbottom?"

"Look..." Granger started, obviously throwing caution into the wind. "Professor...it's about the Sorcerer's Stone."

I could tell that whatever McGonagall was expecting, that wasn't it. The books she was carrying tumbled out of her arms, but she didn't bother picking them back up. "How do you know..." she spluttered.

"Professor, I think...I know...that Sn...that someone's going to try and steal the Stone. I've got to talk to Professor Dumbledore!" Longbottom pleaded.

'For once, he is right!' Violet cackled.

'Even a broken clock is correct twice a day, Vi.' I chided her, as if she shouldn't get her hopes up. 'Besides, stealing sounds so crude...we are just going to be putting them to better use is all.'

'You are such a naughty boy, Harry.' Violet laughed, causing me to smirk.

"Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow." McGonagall said finally. "I don't know how you found out about the Stone, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it's too well protected."

"But Professor..."

"Weasley, I know what I'm talking about." she said shortly. She bent down and gathered up the fallen books. "I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the sunshine."

"It's tonight." Longbottom whispered to the other two once McGonagall had left. "Snape's going through the trapdoor tonight. He's found out everything he needs, and now he's got Dumbledore out of the way. He sent that note, I bet the Ministry of Magic will get a real shock when Dumbledore turns up."

'He has a good point.' Violet said worriedly. 'Not about Snape, of course, but there is always the chance that Dumbledore will return early.'

'There is always a chance.' I conceded slowly. 'We will just have to be in and out of the as quick as possible. 'For now I say we get out of here. It seems Snape is about to head over here, and I don't want to take a chance that he bumps into us.'

'Probably for the best.' Violet admitted. 'Let's go find Daphne and Tracey and hang out with them until dinner!'

Violet seemed to enjoy when I hung around those two, Daphne in particular. Of course, it was easy to like the girl. She had brains, common sense, and would probably be a real beauty in a few years. They would probably be great friends...well if Violet had a body that is. Daphne already knew how to protect her mind, perhaps one day in the future I could bring her in on my secret and get her to help. I would take precautions, just in case, regardless.

Perhaps I could ask Cyrus about it. I had a feeling that he would be wanting to talk to me soon about some of the things he had seen now that I would have to return back to the Dursley's soon. For now though, I had a couple of snakes to find.

* * *

I was sitting in the common room after dinner, just counting down the minutes until I could pretend to head to bed. We had hung out with Daphne and Tracey until it was time for dinner, and as usual, we had a good time just unwinding some post-exam stress. I was currently sitting in the corner with Wayne, Susan, and Hannah just talking about the year that had past…well they were talking, while I was waiting impatiently for the time to tick down. Although I did contribute occasionally.

"So how do you think you all did on the exams?" Susan asked the group.

"I will be lucky if I get higher than acceptable in History and Astronomy." Hannah replied. "It is just so dang hard to stay awake in those classes."

"It is all I can do to stay awake for five minutes while listening to Binns." Wayne laughed. "But I think I might still scrape a passing grade."

"I stopped paying attention to him about two weeks into term." I replied to the group off handedly, finally getting involved in the conversation. "You're better off just working on homework and studying from the book later."

"You're probably right." Susan added with a sigh. "It's not like he is teaching anything that couldn't be found in there anyways."

"So how do you guys think you did in Potions?" Wayne asked. "Even if he gets a higher grade, I bet we still had an easier time than Harry." The girls chuckled at his remark. That Snape hated me for some reason was no secret.

"Probably." Hannah giggled. "The way he treats Harry, you would think he killed his puppy!"

"Yes, well the man child is about the age where he should have one." I bristled. Snape was not my most favorite of professors. "I would love to see the look on his face when he sees my potion…Probably will still only get an EE on it though."

"I should talk to auntie." Susan piped up. "You would think that something would be done about the way he treats the students."

"I doubt it." Wayne added grumpily. "From what I hear from the other years, he has been that way for years and nobody has done anything to stop him yet."

"That is because the only bigger man child than Snape, is Dumbledore." I grinned. "Honestly, the first time we ever meet the guy he starts spouting out 'Nitwit, Blubber, Oddment, Tweak'…the man has to be off his rocker."

The three broke out in laughter.

"I think you may have a point." Hannah grinned. "But Dumbledore must still be powerful if You-Know-Who was afraid of him."

"Well it was like a decade ago." Wayne added. "Ten years can age a person quite a bit."

"That and Voldemort must have been missing a few marbles if he got himself killed fighting a baby." I smirked. "Who knew taking candy from a baby could be so hard." I added, causing the three Puff's to bust out into laughter.

"I bet Longbottom had the last bag of Lemon Drops, and that is what You-Know-Who and Dumbledore were fighting over." Susan said, gasping through her laughter.

"Dumbledore is weird about candy." Wayne smiled with a grin. He was obviously plotting a joke. "Don't you all think it is weird that he offers candy to school children when they are called to his office?"

Susan and Hannah made a sour face at Wayne's insinuation of Dumbledore being into children.

"Well, I think that is my cue for bed." I told the three as I stood up and pretended to yawn. "By the way girls, there is no need for the sour faces. Judging by the way he dresses, I would guess only Wayne would have to worry about being offered candy." Wayne's face went white at that thought.

'Might explain why Quirrell stutters so much.' Violet added with a laugh as I made my way up to the dorm to fix my bed to appear as if I was sleeping. 'Might be traumatized!'

'Geez, you're as bad as Wayne.' I chided her with a chuckle.

'Except you think I am much cuter!' she cheered.

'Well that is a no brainer…you don't see me wearing any of Dumbledore's robes do you?' I cocked my eyebrow at her. 'Let's head out of here. We have a mirror to retrieve.'

'Let's do this!' she said much more seriously.

* * *

Once I had my bed situated, I threw on my invisibility cloak and silently made my way out of the dorm and headed for the third floor. It was still fairly early, only just around nine, so I was hoping that I was early enough to get in and out with no problems. Soon I was standing outside of the door that housed Fluffy.

'How do you want to do this?' Violet asked.

'Well, I don't have any instruments, so we are just going to have to sing it to sleep.'

'We?' Violet asked with a crazy look on her face. 'You do remember that you are the only one who can actually hear me right?'

'Really? I didn't know that.' I deadpanned. 'Yes, we! I suck at singing, so you are going to join me so that your mouth is occupied on something other than laughing at me!'

'Well I think you sing handsomely!' Violet pretended to swoon while batting her eye lashes at me. 'I will sing, but you don't have to lie next time. If you want to hear my singing so bad you just need to ask!'

'I'll keep that in mind.' I said flatly. 'Well get ready, in we go in 3, 2, 1…'

I quietly cast the spell to unlock the door and immediately began to sing to the three-headed beast. The dog had started to snarl as soon as the door had opened, but once the music reached his ears his eyes started to droop. Once he had fallen asleep, I slowly made my way over to him, while levitating his paw away from and off of the trapdoor, never stopping my singing for longer than a second or two.

I couldn't see anything but darkness when I opened the trapdoor, but I had come this far already. I stopped singing and quickly cast a strong levitation charm on my shoes before jumping into the hole and slowly lowering myself down. I didn't know how far I had to go, and I couldn't stop my spell long enough to conjure any light. Thankfully my feet hit something soft a few seconds later.

The moment my feet hit ground, I stopped my levitation spell and lit my wand, lighting the place up…and not a moment too soon either, as vines had already begun to ensnare my legs. Thankfully they started to retreat the moment I lit my wand.

'Devil's Snare?' Violet asked. 'That doesn't seem so difficult.'

She was right. I would have expected something much harder to deal with from Professor Sprout. Sure we haven't started to handle it yet, but even as first years we had already read about the plant.

'Part of me hopes the rest of the traps are just as easy.' I told her in response. 'The other half of me will be disappointed if they are…'

'Well I will settle for easy so we can get the hell out of here.' Violet said seriously. 'Let's keep moving.'

My wand still lit in front of me, I headed down the path in the direction away from the Devil's Snare. It wasn't long before we came to an old wooden door. I threw on my invisibility cloak before opening it and stepping through. My first reaction was that there were thousands of birds in the room waiting to attack me. That was until I had been unable to open the door and then I finally realized they were in fact flying keys. Leaning up against the walls were a couple of broomsticks.

'I wonder if they will react if they can't see you.' Violet stated. 'We are probably looking for a large silver key to match the lock on the door.'

'Well, here goes nothing.' I told her before I grabbed a broom from the wall and mounted it. Thankfully I was still small enough to cover not only myself, but the entire broom as well under my cloak. The keys didn't react, almost as if the invisibility cloak was able to hide me from their enchantments as well. It had only taken me a few minutes to track down the slow moving silver key, however, invisible or not they all started to swarm around aimlessly the moment I had grabbed it. It was almost as if they didn't know who or what, but that someone was there. I quickly flew down and unlocked the door before releasing the key once again and moving into the next room.

The next room held a massive chess board that was blocking a door on the other side. However, they too took no notice of me under my cloak as I made my way slowly between them. I was half tempted to just take off the cloak and fight them, it had been that easy so far.

'Don't complain!' Violet scolded me. 'I just want to get the mirror and go before we get caught. The last thing I need is for you to get expelled, Harry.'

'I know, I know, Vi.' I placated her. 'I'm just disappointed that we wasted so much time planning for this and so far all I've had to do is sing and basically light a candle.'

'I know, but let's not look a gift dragon in the mouth.' She said cheekily.

'You and that bloody dragon.' I mumbled to myself as I stepped into the next room.

This time I was thankful that I had my cloak on, as a fully grown mountain troll was waiting on the other side. He noticed the door opening and closing, but he couldn't see me and was looking around stupidly trying to figure it out. Thankfully he stunk so bad, there was little chance of him catching my scent.

'Still wanna take off your cloak, Harry?' Violet asked cheekily.

'I wonder if they stuck that troll from Halloween in here. I'm guessing this would be Quirrell's protection and I hear he was there after Longbottom and friends knocked it out…well after he woke up of course' I laughed as I quickly made my way through the door on the other side. I had no sudden wish to fight a highly magical resistant creature while still in my first year. The moment I did black flames shot up from the ground from the door in front of me and purple flames from behind.

As it turned out, I was able to take my cloak off in this room. The room obviously was Snape's protection as it was a table full of wines, poisons, and potions. Oh, and some riddle that must be impossible for all but like five people in the wizarding world to solve. I had to give Snape a tiny bit of credit, when it came to using logic or their brains to solve a problem, most of the wizarding world seemed to fall short of completing the challenge. Sure I was probably exaggerating a bit…or a lot, as I am sure Daphne and perhaps even Granger could solve it in a few minutes, but hey you get my point.

'The third from the left will advance us forward.' Violet said, breaking me out of my thoughts about the lack of common sense in the world. 'The one on the far right will take us back out.'

'Sure…just ruin my fun.' I said picking up the third bottle from the left and downing it. It instantly refilled itself the moment the bottle was returned to the table. 'So far we have had Hagrid, Sprout, Flitwick, McGonagall, I'm guessing Quirrell, and Snape.'

I quickly made my way over to the black flames, took a quick breath, and started to head into what I assumed to be the last room…Dumbledore's room.

* * *

The next room had a high, arched ceiling. Thick stone pillars stood rooted between the floor and ceiling, as if taking on the duties of Atlas, holding the world above it in place. The room sunk down on the three closest sides to the door, until they flattened out to a sunken dais, upon which sat the object of my planning for the last six months...The Mirror of Erised.

I quickly stowed my cloak in my robe pocket before making my way down the steps to stand in front of the mirror. I once again stared into the depths of my heart's desire, smiling at the fact that Violet was one again waiting for me through the glass pane. Only this time she was holding a blood red stone in her hands, with a smirk that would please the devil himself on her face.

'Fifteen minutes tops, Harry' Violet implored. 'If you can't get that stone out of the mirror by then we need to worry about it later.'

I nodded my head in agreement and begun trying to solve the mystery that Dumbledore had placed before me. I only knew a limited amount of diagnostic and detection spells, but it was obvious from my scans that there was some serious Runes and Charms work that had been laid into the mirror. Unfortunately I didn't know where the enchantments for the mirror stopped and the ones Dumbledore added to house the stone in it started. Hell, I didn't even know what half of the Runes were!

My fifteen minutes was almost up and it was about time for me to just snatch the mirror and worry about the stone later. I shrunk the large, ornate mirror and placed it in my pocket, after casting a few cushioning charms on it first, before I did my best at transfiguring an exact replica to take it's place. It wouldn't hold up to any sort of thorough examination as there were no enchantments on it, but the frame was almost a match and the glass...well looked like any other mirror glass.

"Old goat may be crazy as hell, but these are some seriously complex Rune Clusters and enchantments on this mirror." I muttered a minute later, after making sure my replacement mirror looked real enough, grudgingly admitting that Dumbledore was still leaps and bounds ahead of me academically.

"Yes," came a strong and almost unrecognizable voice from behind me without the stutter. "He always seems to find a way to stall even the best laid plans."

Startled, I whipped my wand out and spun around, firing off two quick stunners in the direction of the voice. They were promptly batted away with little effort, and I finally registered who my unwanted guest was...Professor Quirrell.

* * *

_(Third person POV)_

"Good reflexes, Mr. Potter." Quirrell smirked. "Ten points to Hufflepuff."

Harry snorted at his obvious dig at the house point system, as if it actually held any real value in life.

"I'm surprised to see you down here, professor." Harry said, trying to think of a way to talk his way out of this situation. "I know Dumbledore didn't place any notification wards on the entrance, how did you know I was here?"

"Oh, I didn't." Quirrell smirked, his stutter mysteriously gone. "Although, I am not surprised to see you...considering who you are...but no, I am here for my own reasons."

"I'm afraid I don't understand. Considering who I am? I don't really remember me being anything other than a first year student." Harry questioned him, confused on what he meant...his confusion growing even stronger when his smirk increased.

"Oh yes, I forgot. Dumbledore has yet to tell you the truth." Quirrell smiled before his face turned to one of slight frustration. "The fool actually did quite a thorough job in keeping you safe I must admit. The only ones who would have known the truth were quickly secured away in Azkaban, keeping his secret safe all this time."

"What truth?" Harry asked, his request bordering on demanding. He had just enough control over his tumultuous emotions to not outright disrespect the professor. "What was Dumbledore supposed to tell me?"

Quirrell once again laughed. "Why, the biggest truth of all, Harry Potter." he began. "Although, I am disappointed that you do not know your own story. I had hoped the old man would have told you how exactly you survived the night you received your scar."

"That knowledge is public record...how could you not know?" he asked suspiciously. Harry was starting to get a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach that he might be losing more than just house points for being caught down here. "Voldemort's followers killed my parents and they were stopped by Dumbledore before they could get to me."

"No dear boy." Quirrell said heatedly. "It was the Dark Lord who showed up at your house that night! It was the Lestranges and Barty Crouch Jr. that went to the Longbottom's house that night! And it was your forehead that deflected a killing curse back at the greatest sorcerer the world has ever known!" Quirrell was huffing by the time he had finished talking.

"You mean that Longbottom isn't the Boy-Who-Lived?" Harry said, grabbing his wand a bit tighter. The bad feeling in the pit of his stomach growing steadily worse. "And why would you care about what happened to Voldemort that night? Voldemort is dead!"

"That is where you are wrong, Harry Potter." Quirrell whispered, barely loud enough for Harry to hear him. "My master cannot be killed. He is more immortal than any one man has ever been!"

"Funny..." Harry said defiantly, trying to build up his courage. "He must have taken one hell of a vacation because he hasn't been seen in over a decade. If he is immortal then where has he been?"

"Let me speak to him."a raspy voice hissed. It seemed to fill the chamber and it sent a chill down Harry's spine.

"Master, you are not strong enough!" Quirrell pleaded fearfully.

"I have strength enough, for this!"the hiss continued.

Harry felt as if the Devil's Snare had finally caught up to him and was rooting him to the spot. He watched, petrified from both fear and curiosity, as Quirrell reached up and began to unwrap his turban. The turban fell away, Quirrell's head looking strangely small without it. Then he slowly turned on the spot.

Harry didn't know if he wanted to yell or puke. Where there should have been a back to Quirrell's head, there was a face, the most terrible face Harry had ever seen. It was chalk white with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils, like a snake.

"Harry Potter..." the face whispered. "See what I have become? Mere shadow and vapor...I have form only when I can share another's body, but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds."

Harry's head was running a thousand miles an hour. Granted Violet's face wasn't sticking from the back of his head, she was similar to what he was seeing in so many ways. Both Violet and Voldemort were living inside of someone else's body and each appeared to be capable of independent thoughts and speech...granted Violet's voice was only inside of his head.

"What are you?" Harry finally blurted out. "Are you a ghost? How can you talk but not have a body?"

Voldemort's face contorted into a knowing smirk. "No...what you see is my soul...all that remains of me from that fateful night. I am no ghost...and neither is the companion in your head, if that is what you are wondering. I daresay I am not the only soul without a body in this room."

Harry froze. How did he know about Violet? He was on the verge of having a panic attack, not having even come close to planning for this turn of events. "I don't know what you are talking about." he tried to lie, failing miserably, causing Voldemort's smirk to widen into a full blown smile.

"Occlumency at such a young age is quite impressive, Harry. I even had to stop invading your mind once you started to learn to defend it, lest you recognize it and become suspicious of me...but I had six month's. Six straight months to slowly worm your greatest secrets from your mind. I know all about the girl you house inside of your head."

Harry was like a deer caught in the headlights. He had no idea what to do, and he quickly started to try and think of a way to silence both Quirrell and Voldemort from spilling his greatest secret, each idea seemingly no better than the last.

"Join me Harry Potter." Voldemort interrupted the storm silently brewing inside of Harry's head. "Together we can do extraordinary things. I can even help you give young Violet a body of her own. All you have to do is give me that mirror in your pocket!"

Harry hadn't even know that he had stopped clearing his mind, and that Voldemort had been skillfully probing his thoughts for the last few minutes. Quickly he emptied his mind and forced out the probe.

Voldemort had just offered him the very thing he wanted above everything else...a body for Violet. He wanted so bad to accept his offer and join him, it wasn't like he cared for the rest of the world...they had never done anything for him as far as he was concerned, but he didn't want to give up the mirror and the stone to find out it had all just been a trick played on him.

Voldemort watched the conflict rage on inside of the first year Hufflepuff, slowly losing his patience at waiting and the fact that the boy had finally discovered his Legilimency probe. "Well, Harry? What will it be? Do we have a deal...or should I just finish what I started ten years ago and take the stone for myself anyway?"

Finally Harry's eyes hardened and Voldemort could tell he had made a decision. He didn't really care which it was, he was going to kill the boy anyhow as soon as he had a body. Slowly Harry reached into his pocket and withdrew the shrunken mirror, looking at it longingly for a few seconds before reaching out to hand it to Voldemort.

Just as Quirrell's hand was about to grab the mirror, another unwelcome voice shouted from the entrance-way.

"You two!" the newly arrived Longbottom shouted at Harry and Quirrell, whose face had been facing the entrance, as he fired off a knock-back jinx at Harry which narrowly missed the precious mirror in his hands, but hitting and shattering the fake mirror into a scattered pile of broken glass and wood. Harry quickly pocketed the mirror once again to save it from any further harm.

Quirrell smiled at the Longbottom child. "Me." he said calmly. I wondered whether I'd be meeting your here tonight, Longbottom."

"But I thought...Snape..."

"Severus?" Quirrell laughed as Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes, Severus does seem the type, doesn't he? So useful to have him swooping around like an overgrown bat. Next to him, who would suspect p-p-poor, st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrell?"

Quirrell snapped his fingers and ropes sprang out of thin air and wrapped themselves tightly around Longbottom. "You're too nosy to live, Longbottom. Scurrying around the school on Halloween like that. For all I knew you'd seen me coming to look at what was guarding the Stone."

"You let the troll in?"

"Certainly. I have a special gift with trolls...you must have seen what I did to the one in the chamber back there? Unfortunately, while everyone else was running around to look it, Snape, who already suspected me, went straight to the third floor to head me off. Not only did my troll fail to beat you to death, that three-headed dog didn't even manage to bite Snape's leg off properly."

"Why would you care if that troll killed me or not?" Longbottom asked, his fright evident on his face.

"I am going to let you in on a little secret Longbottom." Quirrell said softly. "Since you are not going to leave this room alive. It only seems fair that you know the truth before you die!"

"W-w-what d-do you m-mean?" Longbottom asked close to fainting. "Y-you're g-going to kill m-me?"

"No Mr. Longbottom, I am going to kill you!"Voldemort hissed as Quirrell turned around so Voldemort was now facing Longbottom instead of Harry. "I just want you to die with the knowledge that you have never defeated me. Dumbledore has lied to the world and used you as his bait to hide the true Prophecy Child. You have never been anything but an average child so long as you have lived, and an average child you shall die! Avada Keda...AAARRGGHH!"

Both Quirrell and Voldemort started to scream as a sharp pain erupted in Quirrell's chest, right above his heart; followed by the feeling of his neck being burned as he was knocked to the ground.

* * *

_(Harry POV)_

"Join me Harry Potter." Voldemort interrupted the storm silently brewing inside of my head. "Together we can do extraordinary things. The world would be at our fingertips…I can even help you give young Violet a body of her own. All you have to do is give me that mirror in your pocket!"

An entirely new storm had started to brew within me. Voldemort had just offered me the very thing I had been trying to achieve above everything else...a body for Violet. I wanted so bad to accept his offer and join him if it meant her finally having a body, it wasn't like he cared for the rest of the world...they had never done anything for me as far as I was concerned, leaving me to be nothing more than a slave to my own family. I just didn't want to give up the mirror and the stone to find out it had all just been a trick played on me.

'Please...don't do it, Harry!' Violet pleaded. 'You can't trust him. He will probably kill you the moment you hand it to him!'

'But what if he isn't lying?' I asked her, confusion still running through me on what to do. 'Besides, if I don't give it to him, he will just try and kill me anyhow.'

'There has to be another way.' Violet begged worriedly. 'I don't want to see you die for me, Harry.'

I sat and pondered what she was saying. I knew deep down in my heart that Voldemort was likely only blowing smoke at me, waiting for me to give him the mirror and the stone before he killed me. Ideas on how to escape this situation alive were running through my mind left and right, each one not ending with me still breathing.

"Well, Harry? What will it be? Do we have a deal...or should I just finish what I started ten years ago and take the stone for myself anyway?" Voldemort asked, his patience wearing thin.

Finally, my mind was made up with a plan of action. 'Violet do you trust me?' I asked the girl who had been the most important thing in my existence.

'Of course I do, Harry.' she said softly. 'Just please be careful!'

I finally steeled my resolve, plan firmly planted in my mind, and slowly reached into my pocket and pulled out the shrunken mirror. I took a few long moments to look at it, in case my plan backfired and everything fell apart. I would let him think that I was on his side, and wait for him to turn his back to me and strike.

Just as I was about to hand it to him, another shout came from the doorway, followed by a spell that just barely missed my hand and destroyed the fake mirror behind me. Wood and glass shattered and rained down on the ground around me, a few pieces bouncing off of my back.

It was Longbottom...I didn't know whether to kiss or kill him for his interruption. He was either going to make my plan a success or ruin it completely! I quickly put the mirror back into my pocket to keep it safe. Quirrell had taken to talking to the boy, Voldemort's face still facing me, hidden from him. I took the time that they weren't paying attention to me to modify my plans slightly, an even better plan formulating in my mind.

Suddenly, I saw my window of opportunity opening. Quirrell was slowly turning around so that Voldemort could face Longbottom. The moment that neither face was facing me, I silently cast a levitation charm on a large shard of glass that had been laying on the ground directly behind me. Quickly I snatched the piece of the broken mirror and took a firm hold on it, waiting for the right moment to strike.

"No Mr. Longbottom, I am going to kill you!"Voldemort hissed at Longbottom, raising his wand and pointing it at him. "You will die with the knowledge that you have never defeated me. Dumbledore has lied to the world and used you as his bait to hide the true Prophecy Child. You have never been anything but an average child, and an average child you shall die! Avada Keda..."

I took the opportunity to strike at him mid-spell, when his concentration was completely on Longbottom. As quick and as hard as I could, I brought the large shard of glass down and right into Quirrell's chest, directly above his heart, cutting deeply into my hand as it slid across the broken glass. Not wanting to chance him surviving, I jumped on him, wrapping my hands around his neck, determined to either cut off his air supply and suffocate him, or at the very least get him to pass out. I knew my reflexes were fast, but I didn't want to try and just stun him, only to find out that his reflexes were even faster, and fail.

I wasn't surprised when the both of us went tumbling to the ground. I was, however, surprised when my hands started to heat up as a sizzling sound came from Quirrell's neck where my hands had been touching him. I could feel the large amount of magic being pumped through my body and into Quirrell, but that wasn't what had me worried. From the moment my hands started to burn into Quirrell's neck, Violet had been writhing in pain, as if she was being tortured as well.

For some reason, she was also being hurt by the contact with Voldemort, and it angered me, knowing that he was somehow hurting her. Quirrell's neck had started to turn to ash, but I quickly removed my hands from it and instead placed them both over his face. Violet was still thrashing in pain, and my body was quickly tiring from channeling so much magic, my young body not being used to using so much magic.

After what seemed like hours to Violet, but was only seconds in real life, Quirrell stopped screaming as his face, followed soon by the rest of his body, started to crumble into a large pile of ash...He was dead. A dark mist started to swirl from his body and the soul of Voldemort coalesced above where his body had been.

"One day soon, Potter!" Voldemort hissed. "I will return, and the world will watch as I extinguish the life from your eyes!"

As Voldemort took off through the ceiling, I allowed my body to relax, slouching from exhaustion. My muscles aching from the beginnings of magical exhaustion. My body just wasn't mature enough to be using so much magic in such a short amount of time.

"Is...is he dead?" Longbottom finally asked.

I looked at him incredulously. "He is a pile of dust...why even ask such a stupid question?"

"Fine!" Longbottom snapped, regaining some of his former arrogance. "How about I ask what you were doing down here with him in the first place?"

"I must profess myself interested in finding the answer to that question myself...from the both of you." came a wary sounding voice...once again from the entrance to the chamber. I slowly turned my head to the side and spotted the last person I wanted to see standing there...Albus Dumbledore. He waved his wand, releasing Longbottom from his bindings, before turning to look at the pile of ash with a small frown.

'Well, Vi...time to find out how well my Occlumency training has gone.' I told her, while working on a story that wouldn't end up with me expelled, in jail, or worse...losing the mirror.

'You just killed Quirrell and defeated Voldemort...for apparently the second time.' Violet said, a hint of pride in her voice. 'I think you can handle long beard over there.'

"Well, you see Professor..." Longbottom began, before Dumbledore cut him off by raising his hand.

"As interesting as this tale will undoubtedly be, Mr. Longbottom," Dumbledore said, his eyes again doing that weird twinkling thing that undoubtedly was used to lure children to their doom. "This is a conversation that would perhaps be best left until we were in my office...after Mr. Potter receives some care for his injuries of course." he added, pointing to my right hand that was bleeding heavily.

* * *

The stop at the infirmary didn't take very long. As the cuts to my hand weren't caused by magic, Pomfrey was able to heal them in a matter of seconds. Nobody talked much the entire time until we made it up to the headmaster's office. Weasley lay asleep in one of the occupied beds in the infirmary, Granger had been released as we entered the Hospital Wing.

Dumbledore led us into his office and I couldn't help but look around in curiosity. The room was lined in dozens of moving portraits, the plaque's accompanying them identifying them as the previous headmasters and headmistresses. Bookshelves were lining the lower portion of the walls, just blow the portraits. Dozens of silver objects and other obscure artifacts lined the few open shelves and tables around the room. A cabinet sat on the right side caught my attention, the door was cracked open with a silver glow leaking out of it and into the room. The room looked every bit as eccentric as the man who occupied it.

Have a seat Mr. Longbottom, Mr. Potter." Dumbledore said as he took a seat himself behind his large desk, beside of which was an empty perch. Longbottom quickly took the left seat and I took the one on the right at a more dignified pace. "Now, let's start with you Mr. Longbottom. Perhaps you could enlighten an old man as to why you, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger were so far out of bounds?"

Longbottom must have taken Dumbledore's tone as a reprimanding one, as he was staring at his lap when he answered. "Hermione, Ron, and I all thought that Professor Snape was trying to steal the Stone, sir. When we heard that you were gone, we tried to tell Professor McGonagall, but she didn't believe us. So we decided to try and save it ourselves."

"When I got to the end, I found out it wasn't Professor Snape as I had thought, but Professor Quirrell and Potter. I saw Potter about to hand something to the professor and I fired a knock-back jinx at his hand to try and make him drop it but it missed and shattered the large mirror behind them."

Dumbledore looked troubled when Longbottom mentioned the Mirror being destroyed, but urged him to continue.

"After that, Quirrell wandlessly bound me in ropes and started saying how he had been trying to steal the Stone all year, and that he had been the one to let the troll in on Halloween. Then he turned around, and You-Know-Who was sticking out of the back of his head. You-Know-Who said that I wasn't really the one who defeated him, but that Potter..." here he turned to me with a sneer on his face. "That Potter was really the one who beat him. He wasn't telling the truth was he, sir?"

Dumbledore stole a quick peak at me before he turned back to Longbottom, his eyes twinkling at full force. "Of course not. He was merely trying to play with your mind, Mr. Longbottom. You can hardly take Voldemort at his word, he has always been rather charming when he needs to be, twisting words and corrupting minds to meet his goals."

Longbottom looked heavily relieved at Dumbledore's words, I merely raised an eyebrow at him, not believing that he would buy that story so easily.

"Then right as You-Know-Who was about to cast the Killing Curse at me, Potter did something behind him that made him scream before he tackled him and started choking him. Potter must have been using Dark Magic, because just his touch burned Professor Quirrell's skin, until his whole body turned to ashes. Then You-Know-Who's spirit formed above the ashes and flew away through the ceiling."

"Dark Magic is a serious allegation, Mr. Longbottom." Dumbledore replied when the Gryffindor had finished his story. Dumbledore turned his gaze to me. "Perhaps you would like to tell your side of the story, Harry?"

'Here we go, Vi.' I told her, already having prepared the story I was going to tell the headmaster. 'Just get my award ready!'

'It's just too bad I can't talk.' She replied with a smirk. 'My story would have undoubtedly been much more interesting.'

"Of course, Professor." I told the headmaster with a small smile, trying not to turn the charm up too much. I knew that Dumbledore was one of the few people that wouldn't be fooled by a mere charming personality. "It all started earlier today when I noticed Longbottom and his two friends run into the entrance hall, obviously looking upset. Wondering if something was wrong, I made to go see if they needed any help."

'Pffft.' Violet snorted. 'Such a good Samaritan you are…my hero!' she swooned.

"When I got closer to them, they were talking to Professor McGonagall about someone trying to steal a Stone that was being hidden on the third floor. They brushed off her warnings that the Stone was safe, and when they huddled up after she left, I eavesdropped on them to make sure they weren't going to be doing anything that would get them into more trouble. I had heard how badly things were for them when they lost all those points from having that dragon, and I wanted to spare them any more trouble…even from themselves."

Violet had been laughing so hard throughout my entire story, that it was almost hard for me to even tell it without laughing along with her. I had to make sure to keep my mind, and my emotions, cleared less I start laughing my head off right in front of the headmaster. "The three did not take Professor McGonagall's warning to heart, and I heard them planning on going after whoever it was that was trying to steal the Stone. Foolishly, instead of going to a professor, which would have gotten them into trouble, I decided that I would sneak down there myself to help make sure they didn't get injured."

"Sadly, I didn't know what time they were going to the third floor, so I had to go as soon as curfew hit, just to make sure that I didn't miss them. When I got to the room with the Cerberus, I noticed someone had already put it to sleep, and the trapdoor underneath it was open. I didn't know if it was the thief, Longbottom, or both that had already gone through so I quickly went down and battled my way through all the traps."

"When I got to the final room, Longbottom and his friends weren't there…it was only Professor Quirrell…well so I thought at first. He told me that the mirror had a Sorcerer's Stone inside it. I admit, that the thought of owning it and becoming super rich did cross my mind, but I wasn't going to just steal it. Quirrell grew frustrated that he couldn't get the Stone out of the mirror. That was when someone else spoke up and told him to 'Use the boy!'."

"Quirrell made me stand in front of the mirror, and I saw myself holding a blood-red stone, but nothing ever happened. Quirrell got mad and the mysterious voice said that it wanted to talk to me. He unwrapped his turban and the face of Voldemort was sticking out from the back of his head."

Dumbledore's eyebrows perked up slightly at my use of Voldemort's name, but I ignored it and kept going. "He told me that I either had to join him or die. I didn't want to join him, I don't want to be on the dark side, but I didn't want to die either. So I told him that I would join him. I was just hoping to live long enough to be able to escape him and find a professor. I went to shake his hand to seal the deal, which is when Mr. Longbottom thought he saw me handing something to him, when a spell was shot past me and into the mirror, shattering it causing the glass to fall all around me."

"When Voldemort turned to talk to Longbottom, and neither face was looking at me, I levitated a shard of glass from the broken mirror and took it. I stabbed it into Quirrell's chest just as Voldemort was about to kill Longbottom. Then my instincts just kind of took over and I tackled him to the ground, but I swear, I honestly have no idea why his body burned to ashes. I can promise you it was not 'Dark Magic' as Longbottom claims." I finished with a slight sneer towards Longbottom.

Dumbledore sat silent for a few moments. I made the mistake of making eye contact with him, and immediately I felt his probe enter my mind. I knew I couldn't just banish it without alerting him to my abilities, so I did my best to direct it to the sole thought that I was telling the truth, praying that I did it correctly. Finally, after a few seconds, the probe ended and Dumbledore sighed.

"I am both proud at the loyalty you both have shown the school tonight, and horrified that you would intentionally put yourselves in such danger." Dumbledore began. "Therefore I feel I must take ten points from the both of you. However...you shall both be receiving awards for special services to the school." Longbottom looked pleased that he would be getting an award. Me…not so much. I knew that it would only attract more attention to myself.

"It has grown rather late, perhaps you two should head off to bed." Dumbledore said tiredly. "Sadly, I shall be up most of the night making sure this is all explained properly to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the School Governors. I trust you two not to partake in any additional adventures on your way back to you dorms?" He smiled at that last part, dismissing the pair of us.

Longbottom hurried from his chair and made his way towards the door, with me following him at a much more leisurely pace. Once the door closed behind Longbottom, I branched off course and slowly strolled over to the cabinet that had the blue light shining out from its cracked door. I still had some things I needed to talk to the headmaster about and didn't want to do so while Longbottom was in the room. Deciding to satisfy my curiosity, I opened the cabinet door the rest of the way just to see what was inside.

There was a pedestal inside that had a shallow stone basin, with a silver lining to it, filled with what looked to be some silvery liquid. I could just make out a bunch of Runes lining the rim of the bowl.

"It is called a Pensieve." Dumbledore said softly, having somehow sneaked up on me without me even noticing.

"My apologies for snooping." I apologized to him, truly not sure why I let my curiosity get the better of me. "My curiosity seems to have gotten the better of me."

"Curiosity can be such a wonderful thing." Dumbledore said wistfully. "It can also be quite dangerous, as I am sure you know. One must always exercise caution. However...no harm done this time around."

"What exactly does it do?" I asked him, nodding towards the strange basin.

"It allows you to store and view memories." Dumbledore said, slipping into teacher mode. It was obvious the man had a passion for it. "It is useful for when one finds their mind cluttered, as I often do, and need to take a second look at a particular memory."

"Fascinating." I whispered, awed once more at the power of magic.

"Indeed." Dumbledore agreed. "However, I am sure your lingering has more to do with something else and not my Pensieve. So what is on your mind, Harry?"

I took a moment to gather my thoughts before I spoke. "While Longbottom may not be able to tell when he is being lied to or not, I am. I've spent enough time being lied to about magic from my relatives to know when I am being told the truth or not. I saw the look on Voldemort's face when he told Longbottom that I was the one who defeated him and not Longbottom…he wasn't lying, sir."

Dumbledore sighed, before rubbing his tired eyes. He gestured once more to the seat I had occupied earlier before he too sat back down at his desk. "No…no he wasn't lying. It was your parent's house that Voldemort attack on that Halloween, and it was you whom he failed to kill; giving you that scar on your forehead in the process."

"I don't understand, sir." I frowned. "Why the trickery?"

"You must understand, Harry. Voldemort may have been gone, but many of his followers were still around. There are many who managed to bribe or talk their way out of Azkaban, and I knew they would have tried to kill you if they had known the truth."

"What made my life any more important that Longbottom's?" I asked. "Does it have anything to do with why Voldemort called me the 'Prophecy Child'?"

Judging by the way Dumbledore's shoulders stiffened momentarily, I believe that I had hit the nail on the head.

"Yes, there was a prophecy that had been made many years ago that concerns you and Voldemort. However, before you ask, you are still much too young to be shouldered with such a heavy burden." Dumbledore sighed. I could tell that he wasn't happy with how much information had already leaked out. I wasn't sure how long he had planned to withhold this information from me, but I was sure that he wasn't planning to tell me this early on.

"Thank you." I finally answered him, drawing a confused look from the aged headmaster.

"What for, Harry?" he asked.

"I have seen what fame has done to Longbottom." I replied to him. "While he isn't an evil person, you can still see where fame has affected his ego. I have no desire for fame or recognition, and I do not envy him for his life. I thank you for not burdening me with such thing."

I was telling him the truth…well most of it. I could give a shit less about being famous, I just didn't want all of the attention that came along with it. I had so much that I needed to do if I wanted to ever get a body for Violet…a lot of it bordering on illegal, and it all would have been impossible with my every move being watched by somebody.

"You are most welcome, Harry." Dumbledore smiled, seemingly pleased that I hadn't reacted badly to the news. "Now, if that is all, I am sure you would like to get some sleep?"

Taking the hint of my dismissal, I rose from my seat, nodding to the headmaster, and making my way towards the door. Just before I opened it and stepped out, he spoke to me again.

"Harry…" he began. "I am sure I do not need to tell you this, but it would be most unwise to tell anybody of what we have just discussed. After all, while they have been disbanded for many years, Voldemort's followers are undoubtedly still out there. Many would love to strike down the one who cost them the war."

"Of course, Professor." I acquiesced before stepping out of the room and making my way down the stairs.

* * *

I hadn't made it more than two corridors from the headmaster's office when Longbottom popped out from around the corner.

"Dumbledore may have bought your story, Potter, but I don't!" Longbottom said angrily. "We didn't see you anywhere near us today when we talked to McGonagall, so that means you were obviously sneaking around. I may not know what, but I know I saw something in your hand and you were about to give it to Voldemort. I don't buy your story on why you were down in that chamber!"

'Annoying little bastard is a bit smarter than he looks, isn't he.' Violet said angrily.

'It could cause problems if he and his goons go snooping around.' I told her, not happy at this turn of events. 'It's too bad that book didn't explain how to do the Obliviation Charm. It would have been much easier to just make him forget.'

'We will just have to keep on our toes next year.' Violet replied. 'Best just continue to play to innocent, good guy for now.'

'Easy for you to say…I'm the only one with toes.' I smirked.

"I don't know what you're talking about Longbottom." I finally answered him. "Everything I told Headmaster Dumbledore is exactly what happened. I am sorry that you are unappreciative of my concern, but I assure you…I am not, nor will I ever, be in league with Voldemort." The last part I couldn't help but chuckle out at him. It was after all the only actual true thing I had told him.

"Whatever you say Potter." Longbottom said heatedly. "Just watch yourself next year, I promise you we will be keeping our eyes on you."

"I'm so glad you care, Longbottom!" I smirked at him. "Now if you will excuse me, I must be off to bed…I have had quite a long night, as I am sure you know."

* * *

**AN: So I would really appreciate your reviews for this chapter. I would like to hear how i did on it. It took me a bit longer than the others to write, it took me quite a few extra hours late at night than the previous ones have. As always, any additional comments, questions, or concerns; feel free to send me a PM, reviews are also most welcome, as i do read each and every one! Thanks for reading, and until next time.  
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	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Decided to give you guys an update before i lost most of the weekend. This is a bit shorter than my usual chapter length, but still well over 6k words for you guys. This will be just some filler to get us moving into Summer and there will be another chapter covering Summer following this one. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything, Rowling won't let me.**

* * *

It was June 13th, and today would be my last Occlumency lesson before break started. Unfortunately, the train ride home was next Saturday, so my first lesson of summer would have to be delayed until the next day. Cyrus was waiting for me when I stepped out of the floo.

"Hello, Harry." Cyrus welcomed me, shaking my hand. "I trust everything is well? I have heard some serious rumors have been floating out of Hogwarts this past week."

"I am not sure what you have heard." I told him with a light smile. "However, I will say the last week and a half have been most interesting."

"I can imagine." Cyrus smiled. "I had hoped today we could use our lesson to talk in lieu of our normal procedure?"

I knew that this conversation had been coming for a while. Cyrus seemed like a good man, and I doubted he would let me return to the Dursley's after what he had seen without at least asking me about it. "Sure, lead the way." I told him with a small smile, following him to the sitting room.

"Anything to drink, Harry?" he asked after calling for Twink, his house elf.

"Butterbeer would be fine, thanks." I told him, sitting myself down in the chair opposite of his. "So…what would you like to talk about?"

Cyrus took the drinks from Twink, handing me my Butterbeer. "As you know, I have seen quite a bit about your past and who you are…both _inside_ and out. I had hoped you wouldn't mind discussing some of the more…disturbing things to ease a man's worry."

"Well, I can't say that I haven't been expecting this conversation." I told him, taking a sip from my drink. "Seeing as you are under a vow to keep my secrets, not that I don't trust you of course but you understand my position, I am willing to discuss your concerns. Mind you, there are some things I will be unwilling to speak about."

Cyrus had been nodding his head along. "I understand, and thank you for trusting me this much. I should probably start with my concerns before my curiosity. I have seen enough of your memories to know that your…home life…isn't the best of situations. I have talked it over with Astrid, and we would like to invite you to stay here for the summer."

I took a moment to gather a response. It wasn't that I was really considering declining, but I still had to take everything into consideration, such as the book sitting under the loose floorboard at Number 4. I would at the very least need to return to retrieve it.

"I have some things I need to do during the break that requires me to leave. I also know that your wards are strong enough to interrupt the Trace from reporting to the Ministry. Is there going to be any problems with me practicing my magic over the summer? I would even be willing to teach Daphne a few things."

Cyrus sat and pondered for a moment. "You would be free to come and go as you please, within reason of course. You are also free to use magic. I do ask you be careful on both accounts. Now, while your…relatives…may not have held the same beliefs as me apparently, my family is very important to me, and my only rule is that you not do anything to endanger them."

"Of course, thank you for hospitality. However, there are some things I need to retrieve from the Dursley's. Would Sunday be acceptable?"

"Of course Harry. You are free to take all the time you need." Cyrus smiled excitedly. "Now that we have that out of the way. There is something…or rather someone…that has had me most curious for quite some time now. I was hoping you could quench my curiosity?"

I slowly took another sip from my drink and nodded my head. "Violet…that's her name. She says hello by the way." I told him, knowing he had only ever heard me refer to her by her nickname.

"It is almost unreal." Cyrus said in awe. "I have never heard of a case where there were two minds in one body. Who picked her name?"

"I did. I was only five at the time." I told him with a small chuckle. "By that age, I was already forced to do the gardening and the violets were always my favorite. Of course, I think I could have called her almost anything and she would have been happy."

"Fascinating. So what is it like having someone else in your head? What's she like?" he asked, sounding almost as if he was a kid in a candy story. I had gathered over the last half year that he was quite the academic.

"It's…she's amazing. Life growing up with my relatives was never easy, but she was always the one who helped me through it. She would always cheer me up whenever I was sad, lonely, or scared." I smiled wistfully, remembering all that she had done for me. "She is smart, has a quick tongue, funny as hell, and there isn't anything I wouldn't do for her."

"I take it she is why you are going through all of this?" he asked. "The lessons with me, the book, and all of the planning and secrecy?"

"Of course. I look at the world…both Muggle and magical, and all I see is wasted potential. People have the ability to accomplish truly amazing things in this world, magicals especially, yet they throw it away, choosing to follow the path of mediocrity simply because that is all that is expected from them. Violet is none of those things. She is brilliant, dedicated, and could do amazing things if only she had a body…she is as deserving, if not more, than anyone to have a body, and I am going to make sure she gets one. It is the very least I can do for her after all she has done for me."

'You really think all of those things about me Harry?' Violet asked, her voice coarse as if she would be crying if she could.

'Of course I do.' I told her. 'You have done so much more for me than I could ever deserve, and I would give anything, my own life included, just to see you happy.'

'I love you Harry.'

'And I love you, Vi. More than anything, and one day you will have a body and I will prove it…even if it takes me a hundred years.' I told her, letting my love for her flow freely through my mind.

"You are right of course." Cyrus sighed, drawing me from my own private conversation. "I'll admit, I am not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to Muggles. But I do know that in the last couple of decades, they have made many great accomplishments when compared to the magical world. Our world seems content to just sit back and relax in a world and time that has long since passed its greatness."

I was glad that Cyrus understood what I was talking about. Muggles were naturally inferior to wizards, there was just no way around it. They will never be able to have the potential that magic gives us. We can accomplish so much with magic that they just would never be able to do like instantaneous travel, conjuration and transfiguration, space expansion…and yet the wizarding world wastes it.

Magic gave them the ability to live a comfortable and lazy life hundreds of years ago, and then they became happy and complacent with what they had. The majority no longer cared to keep bettering themselves and the world. Very few new spells or inventions were created in the last two hundred years compared to the millennium before that. The wizards took that natural superiority they had over the Muggles and just threw it away. Other than a small percentage, wizards today aren't any better than those they consider themselves to be above.

"Perhaps someday someone will come along and revolutionize the wizarding world. From what I have read, it sounds as if that was Voldemort's goal...of course he was taking it in the wrong direction." I told him, shedding light on some of my realizations. "I never knew any decent Muggles growing up. I wasn't allowed to go anywhere and my relatives made sure to quickly poison the neighborhood against me...however, even though I do not like them, even I know it would be foolish to confront them in open warfare. The Muggles developed technology to destroy an entire city within seconds, and that was almost fifty years ago."

Cyrus's eyes went wide hearing that Muggle's had that kind of technology. "An entire city?" he asked.

"In the blink of an eye." I frowned. "It really makes you wonder doesn't it? They are naturally handicapped without magic, and yet they have created so much more than wizards can imagine. Just think where we could be as a society if we hadn't grown lazy."

"You said the wizarding world needed a leader..." Cyrus began carefully. "Are you planning for it to be you?"

I couldn't help but snort. "Not hardly! There is very little in the wizarding world that I care for, and unlike Voldemort, I have no desire to rule it. Being abandoned to muggles doesn't help build much of an attachment with the magical world, especially when its ineptitude is thrown into your face right out of the gates...No, for me this world is merely a bridge that leads me to Violet. After that, I think I will just buy some private island somewhere secluded and live a happy carefree life, raising a family. That is all I really want from life."

'If that is what you want, Harry, then that is what we will do.' Violet smiled. 'As long as you are happy, then I will be too.'

'I'll be happy just as long as you are there with me, you know that.' I told her, making her smile even more.

"That is a very adult answer." Cyrus mused.

"Yeah, well you can thank the Dursley's for that." I chuckled. "One thing they made sure of very quickly was that I knew I didn't have time for a childhood. It was either harden myself and grow up fast, or turn into a beat puppy that has no free will or dreams to call its own...two things I refuse to give up easily."

"Well, I wish you all the luck fulfilling your dreams." Cyrus toasted me. "However, I must extend a word of caution...Sometimes, the most beautiful paradise is only accessible by the most dangerous of roads. Many fall victim to those that hide along the roadside...I hope you do not end up as one of them."

"Thank you Cyrus." I told him honestly. "You truly are a good man, something I admit I haven't met many of in my life."

"You're welcome, Harry, and thank you." Cyrus toasted me as I stood up to make my way back to Hogwarts. "Please pass along my regards to my daughter if you could."

I nodded before making my way back to Hogwarts to start the countdown for summer break.

* * *

The last week of school ended up passing by rather quickly. Those not taking their O.W.L.'s or N.E.W.T.'s had received their exam scores the day before leaving. I had scored O's in all of my subjects that actually used magic, and an EE in Potions, Herbology, Astronomy, and History, although my grade for Potions probably should have been an O, my potion was perfect after all. I ended up finishing second in my class behind Granger, merely for the fact that she actually seemed to give a damn about Herbology, Astronomy, and History...me not so much. I still managed an EE in those subjects without even really trying, and I am sure I could have easily gotten O's if I wanted to...I just didn't want to.

Finally, it was time for the train ride back to London. I was only going to be staying the one night at the Dursley's. Cyrus had told me how to catch the Knight Bus, I would take it from there to The Leaky Cauldron and floo to Greengrass Manor.

I ended up sharing a compartment with Daphne, Tracey, and Wayne. I was actually shocked at how well Tracey and Wayne were getting along. Granted, Tracey was only technically a half-blood, but a Slytherin and a Muggleborn being friendly was rather rare.

"So father says you will be staying with us for the summer?" Daphne asked as the train pulled away from the station.

"I have something to take care of back at my relatives, but I will be there tomorrow." I told her, drawing Wayne's interest in the conversation.

"Why are you stay there all summer? No offense of course." he added towards Daphne.

"My relatives and I came to the agreement years ago that neither of us particularly enjoyed being in the company of the other." I answered him, my mind half in an Ancient Runes text, the other half in the conversation. "I would almost rather spend the holidays ironing out Dumbledore's atrocious wardrobe then be around their stink. It is amazing how hard it seems to be for people their size to wash themselves properly." I told him, speaking of Vernon and Dudley. They both spent plenty of time in the shower, but never seemed to really get clean. I assume they just can't reach a few places.

"Yeah, Justin doesn't particularly enjoy spending time with his family either since they found out he was a wizard." Wayne added knowingly. "He comes from a well off family and they had big plans for him apparently. He was even down for Eton, then Hogwarts comes along and ruins his parents 'big plan' for his future."

"I'm just glad that Daphne and I have the chance to choose our future." Tracey added. "It wasn't that long ago that the woman of our society pretty much did what the males told them to do and that was the end of it...Of course, there is still a small portion of the world that still is that way."

"Purebloods." Daphne acknowledged, wrinkling her nose up in disgust. "It's such a shame...there was a time when being a Pureblood was something to be proud of. Now it is just a bunch of bigot's that are still trying to cling onto the idea that they are superior."

"I don't see how blood could have ever made anyone more superior than someone else." Wayne piped up.

"It isn't so much the blood that makes them better than everyone." I told him, closing my book for now. "It is getting the chance to actually be raised in this world, versus being brand new when you get your letter. Some wizarding families go back thousands of years, and those families have libraries with knowledge dating back to their beginnings in some cases. Pureblood children, and even a lot of half-bloods, who are raised in the wizarding world are trained in these Histories.

While you and I were off in Primary learning about wars, politics, and the history of the Muggle world, people like Malfoy are being tutored in the same things in the wizarding world. So while someone like us that is new to the world doesn't even know what the Knight Bus is, Malfoy and others already have a firm understanding of the wizarding world."

Wayne seemed to understand what I was saying, but had a confused look at the same time. Finally, he asked, "Uhh...what is the Knight Bus?"

I couldn't help but chuckle along while Daphne and Tracey laughed at him confirming my point.

"It's a magical bus that can take you almost anywhere." Tracey answered him.

"It's like the bus system we have in the Muggle world...just faster and more uncomfortable from what Cyrus tells me."

The rest of the train ride to London finished in much the same way as the beginning. The four of us talked and just relaxed. There was maybe an hour left before the door to our compartment opened up, revealing the fake boy-savior himself, Granger, and Weasley.

"It is terribly rude to just barge in without knocking." I glared at the three. "You would think that between the three of you, at least one of you might have received some sort of training on how to show people some respect."

"We don't need to show you anything!" Longbottom growled out. "We just wanted to remind you that we are watching you. I know you were up to something down in that chamber, regardless of what you told Dumbledore!"

"What I know..." I began heatedly. "Is that I saved you from trying your luck with the Killing Curse. I wonder...would magic consider me to have stopped Voldemort from killing you, thus creating a life debt?" I knew that a life debt likely hadn't formed as I really wasn't trying to save Longbottom at all. It was just an opening that I needed to save myself and I took it. It was just lucky for Longbottom that he benefited from it as well.

"Anyone who hangs around with filthy snakes wouldn't save anybody's life. You obviously had your own selfish reasons for killing Quirrell!" Weasley said heatedly, glaring at the two Slytherin girls, who were glaring back equally as hard.

"They may be in Slytherin Weasley, but at least my friends have a chance at a future." I smirked at him.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Granger asked angrily.

"You mean they haven't told you?" I chuckled at her. "Two Pureblood's as best friends and they don't even tell you what to expect. Very well, I will tell you myself, Granger. You...are a Muggleborn woman. As far as people like the Malfoy's are concerned, the same sphere of people who basically run the wizarding world, you are just above a Muggle and right around Squib in their eyes. You can score all of the O's you want, but pretty much the only way you are going to get a job that isn't the lowest entry level the Ministry has, you will need to marry one of these two beside you."

"Which really only leaves Weasley, as poor Longbottom seems to have drawn the ire of a not-quite-so-dead Dark Lord...He undoubtedly has a short predicted life span. I here the Weasley family are firm believers of the woman being a stay at home baby machine, so I wish you luck with that Granger."

"You think you are so clever don't you?" Longbottom snarled. "You will slip up eventually, and I'll be there to make sure your exposed when you do!"

"Well, perhaps you should take some of the time you are wasting on me and actually apply it to your studies." I grinned at them. Longbottom had finished just outside of the top ten in his year, but Weasley had been towards the bottom, barely passing the majority of his classes. "I daresay, Weasley here can't afford to lose out on anytime at all. He is about to be passed by Crabbe and Goyle of all people...it really is sad."

Tracey and Daphne were laughing at Weasley as his face burned red, Wayne chuckled along with them.

"You're just jealous that you couldn't beat Hermione!" Ron yelled at us.

"Oh I did, at least in everything that counted." I laughed at the trio. "She only managed to actually do better than me in History, Astronomy, and Herbology...all of which are of no use to me in the long run...Much like this conversation as a matter of fact, so scram!" I shut and locked the door in their faces, placing a Runic locking sequence on it. I figured Granger would know how to counter any locking spells I knew, but I doubted she knew anything about Runes yet.

* * *

Finally, the train was slowing down and we all changed out of our robes, and into a more casual attire. I said my goodbyes to Wayne, Tracey, and Daphne; telling the latter I would see her tomorrow, and made my way towards the barrier that divided our two worlds.

"Boy!" Vernon greeted me gruffly. "We ain't got all day to be sitting around waiting on you. Hurry and get in the car or you arse can walk home for all I care!"

"It must have been such hard work walking from your chair to the car, Uncle." I glared at him. It was easy to see that he was still weary of magic. Thankfully, the notice for underage magic was sent home with the students and not mailed to their guardians...so the Dursley's were unaware of the restrictions...I was planning on keeping it that way too.

'It's almost a shame we won't be staying for the summer.' Violet grinned. 'We could have had so much fun with them!'

'That would be unfair, Vi.' I chided her jokingly. 'You wouldn't steal candy from a baby just because it was easy would you?'

Violet broke out laughing.

The ride from London to Surrey was rather boring. Vernon kept stealing glances in the rear-view mirror. It was obvious he was unhappy with his current situation if the rapidly changing colors of his face were anything to go by. I had been hoping for years that he would just hurry and give himself a heart attack, but I just hadn't been lucky enough for that yet.

When we pulled into the driveway of Number 4, Vernon turned in his seat to address me. "Now you listen here boy! I don't want to hear, see, or even smell you doing any of your funny business in my home, or you will find yourself out on the streets with the other riffraff and hooligans. Am I being clear enough for you boy?"

Vernon's beady eyes narrowed at me when I snorted at him. "Empty threat. I will be leaving tomorrow for the summer anyhow, Vernon. I would suggest you stay out of my way and we will not have any problems. Am I being clear enough for you...Uncle?"

Vernon growled and shut off the car, hurrying inside of the house without even glancing back towards me.

'I am going to love the day we can finally get even with those three.' Violet said, nodding in the direction of the house.

'I know you are.' I laughed at her. 'I've seen the mental calendar you have been keeping that is counting down the days.'

'Yep.' she smiled. 'Only 771 days left on the calendar to go!'

'I'm not even going to ask where you got that number from.' I chuckled at her, while dragging my trunk towards the house. I couldn't wait until I started practicing some Rituals. I would need the practice before I even dreamed of attempting anything hard, like giving Violet a body, and I had read about some light gray rituals that would give slight boosts to enhance the human body. I would start small and work my way up until I knew I could do advanced rituals without screwing up.

I heaved my trunk up the stairs to the first floor, not even acknowledging my aunt or cousin as I passed by them, and made my way into my bedroom. As soon as the door to my room closed, I rushed over to my bed and checked to make sure the book was still under the loose floorboard. I let out a small sigh of relief when I pulled it up and out of the floor.

I opened up my trunk and fished out the shrunken Mirror of Erised, which I had wrapped up in more cloth and cushioning charms than I knew what to do with, and slowly put it and the book back into the floor, placing the loose floorboard back over top of it. I didn't trust Vernon enough to not try to sneak into my room in the middle of the night and try to confiscate or even burn all of my stuff, so I wasn't going to take any chances with those two items. I stowed my wand underneath my pillow, just in case, and I settled in for the night. Tomorrow I would leave from the Dursley's...hopefully for good.

'Well, at least until it's time to get even with them.' Violet reminded me.

'Yeah, yeah...Don't worry. I won't deny you your fun, you know that.' I mumbled to her sleepily.

'I know, I was just double checking is all.' she smiled before she too started to unwind for the night.

* * *

That next morning I was packed and ready to go as soon as the sun rose in the sky. I was in a hurry to be able to leave the place I had called Hell for so long. As much as I hoped to never have to see the Dursley's again, I knew that they should be even more hopeful that they never saw me again. Me in particular, I just never wanted to see them again…Violet, however, had no intentions of letting them off the hook for what they put me through as a child.

Once I knew that the Greengrasses would be awake, I tugged my trunk behind me and made my way out of the house, not even bothering to spare Petunia the glare that Violet was directing at her. Checking to make sure nobody was outside, just in case, I raised my wand hand and moments later there was the sound of tires sliding against pavement as a large, purple triple-decker bus stopped in front of me.

I paid the conductor of the bus and a few seconds later I was on my way towards London. The ride was much as Cyrus had told me…about as pleasant as sitting through ten straight hours with Snape. I would be learning different modes of Transportation as soon as I was able. Sending a final glare towards the bus as I got off of it, I made my way towards the entrance to The Leaky Cauldron.

The old pub was thankfully almost empty as I made my way inside. I knew that once I was inside the wards of the pub, there would be no way for the ministry to track my with the Trace, so I quickly shrunk my trunk and pocketed it. Quickly, I made my way over towards the fireplace and tossed in a pinch of Floo Powder. Stepping in I softly called out, "Greengrass Manor", and was whisked away from the old pub.

I only slightly staggered as I stepped out of the Floo, and was greeted by a house elf.

"I is twink, can I be's helping you's Mister Harry, sir?" the little house elf asked.

"Hello Twink." I greeted the elf, earning a large smile. "Can you inform Cyrus of my arrival?"

"Of course, Mister Harry, sir. Twink be's doing so right away." With a small pop the elf was gone. Waiting for Cyrus to arrive, I took a moment to once again enjoy my surroundings. I had been here nearly two dozen times already, but I hadn't really just tried to enjoy the place. Portraits of past and present members of the family lined the walls, each with their own history to tell. A marble bust or two of the most prominent past members displayed on pedestals around the room. Overall, the room screamed 'We have wealth' but in an understated way that made you think they weren't trying to rub your face in it.

"Harry!" Cyrus greeted as he entered the Entrance Hall. "I'm glad you could make it."

"You almost sounded surprised, Cyrus." I chuckled at him. "You didn't honestly think I would prefer their company over yours did you?"

Cyrus frowned for a split second at the mention of the Dursley's but it passed, being quickly replaced with his smile. "No, no, of course not. Just glad you made it safely. Come, now that summer is upon us, my wife and youngest are no longer busy, and I would like for you to meet them."

"Of course, sir." I told him, following him out of the room. "I look forward to finally meeting them."

"Daphne has mentioned you a couple times already since she arrived yesterday." Cyrus joked as he led me to the family sitting room. "It would seem she prefers your company to most of those in her own house."

"As much grief as I catch from my house for being off on my own so much, I am surprised she has not bit my head off." I joked.

"Only because I am sure it would taste horrible." A voice spoke from the door. I turned to see Daphne entering with two other people behind her. She had a joking smile on her face, and her blonde hair was done up in pigtails, catching me off guard as I had only ever seen her straight haired at school.

"Daph! You wound me with your words." I fake pouted.

"If you don't start spending more time with your friends then I might wound you with more than just words!" she threatened as a small cough came from behind her.

I looked over her shoulder and saw an older version of her standing there, just with different eyes. Astrid, if I remembered correctly, was average height with long blonde hair. She had an hour-glass figure with a Goldilocks chest…just right in my opinion. The only real difference was the sea green eyes in contrast to Daphne's ice blue ones.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you Mr. Potter, I am Astrid Greengrass" she said as I gave her knuckles a small kiss, knowing some of the older generations still considered it customary.

"Please, call me Harry. I have heard much about you and it is a pleasure to finally meet you." I told her before giving her a small grin. "I must say, if this is what I can expect Daphne to look like when she is older, then poor Cyrus will need to hire someone to follow her to school just to beat me and the other boys away."

Astrid smiled widely as Daphne blushed hard. Cyrus was chuckling in the background as Daphne's younger sister spoke up. "So are you Daphne's boyfriend then?" she asked, causing the two parents to laugh as Daphne's face grew even redder. I couldn't tell if it was from anger or embarrassment.

"Why does she write home about me very often?" I smiled at the young girl who was the reverse of her sister. She had Cyrus's dark hair and her mother's sea green eyes. I sneaked a quick glance at Daphne who was glaring at the pair of us.

"Not home." The younger girl said suspiciously before she grinned at me. "But from what I read in her diary last night, she writes about you plenty in there!"

"Astoria!" her mother chastised as Daphne started to chase her from the room, screaming threats of murder.

'Seems like she will be trouble for Hogwarts professors in a few years.' Violet laughed.

'I just hope she doesn't become friends with the Weasley twins.' I prayed. 'Those two are enough trouble without any extra help.'

'So…you think she was telling the truth about that diary?' Violet smirked mischievously.

'If she is, I won't pick on her for it.' I answered her. 'I am sure her diary is her version of you. I am sure she will already be terrified that her sister shouted that out.'

'But as her friend it is your duty to tease her for it.' she laughed.

'True, but as I don't have but a few friends, I would rather not piss her off.' I chuckled. 'Well…at least not too much.'

"Those two will be at it for a while." Astrid smiled at me. "How about we go for a walk around the grounds and get to know each other while Cyrus takes care of some business at the Ministry?"

"It would be my pleasure." I told her, turning to Cyrus to make sure he was ok with it.

"Just don't be trying to steal my wife, Potter." He joked.

"Of course, Cyrus." I grinned. "I am sure the line for that is too long for me to even have a chance."

Astrid started laughing at the worried look on her husband's face before she looped her arm with mine and started to lead me out towards the grounds. Like the manor, the grounds were beautiful. There was a large expanse of open grass which was surrounded by trees on every side. There was a large lake to the far south of the property which looked like it would be fun to swim in during the summer months.

"So how did you and Daphne become friends?" Astrid asked as she led me around the property.

"We shared a compartment together on the train to school." I told her. "She and Tracey were my first and only friends that I made at Hogwarts, other than my roommate Wayne."

"As her friend, I hope you won't pick on her too bad for what Astoria shouted out today?" she smiled.

"Not too bad, no." I grinned. "I have never been one to have a bunch of friends growing up, and the few I do have now I would hate to treat poorly." I told her. "Daphne has been very helpful to me this past year, and I have come to value her friendship too much to treat her poorly."

"I am glad to hear that." She smiled. "A woman's diary is a place where her thoughts should be safe…Astoria will one day figure that out."

"And I am sure Daphne will show her the error of her ways when she does." I laughed, knowing that Daphne would get even with her sister eventually. She was a fiery one who would always get even if you messed with her.

"She can be a very passionate girl." Astrid agreed. "When she isn't hiding it. Sometimes I wish our society allowed for more a woman to be more open and free, instead of playing the proper Pureblood witch all of the time."

"Yes she is." I laughed. "I can only imagine the pain the boys of Hogwarts will endure when she starts to get older. Sadly, the men in our society will never relinquish its control over our society. I believe they are more afraid than anything. There is a Muggle saying that says 'Behind every great man, there is a great woman'."

"Sounds like the Muggles aren't as savage as most purebloods would lead you to believe." She chuckled, leading me back in the direction of the manor.

I knew that the Muggles were at least close to correct with that saying. If I hadn't had Violet behind me, helping me through the years, there would be no telling where I would be by now. For all I knew I would be some scrawny, malnourished kid that was afraid to even be touched. I would probably have latched onto the first person who came my way and offered me a friendly hand, never branching out. I would have been content with life, never trying to better myself, relying on luck and others to help me through life. To top it off, I would have probably never really dated anyone and married my best friend's sister or something…creepy.

'Sounds like a shitty existence.' Violet grinned. 'Looks like you owe me big time for saving you from such mediocrity.'

'Thank you, great and powerful mistress!' I deadpanned. 'Maybe I could get you a baby dragon in repayment?'

'Oooooh, will you please?' she cooed. She still went on about the bloody thing from time to time.

'Not bloody likely! My luck the thing would eat me for just looking at you!'

'Then you must have been looking at me wrong.' She reasoned. 'My dragon would be protective of anyone staring at my body in a lusty way.'

'I guess I will just have to train myself to stop thinking of you as beautiful then…wouldn't want to get eaten you know.' I teased her.

'You better not, Harry James Potter!' she threatened. 'The moment you do I will tell everyone you secretly are in love with Dumbledore!'

'Vi, that was just plain insulting.' I pouted. 'You couldn't at least pick someone less…old and creepy? Besides, you know you will always be beautiful to me anyhow.'

'I know!' she smiled. 'And you know I would train my future dragon to make an exception for you. Only you though, nobody else is allowed to stare at me like I'm a piece of meat.'

'You got that right…' I mumbled. '...Rip their bloody eyes out.'

"It was a pleasure getting to talk to you, Harry." Astrid said as we entered the manor again.

"Likewise, Mrs. Greengrass." I replied.

"None of that Mrs. Greengrass nonsense." She chided me. "You can call me Astrid, I promise I won't bite." She finished with a laugh.

"Thank you." I gave her a slight bow of the head. "Perhaps I will go make sure Daphne hasn't earned a stay in Azkaban from killing her sister and perhaps even get some homework done."

"Just make sure you are all down in a couple hours for lunch, dear." Astrid replied to me before I made my way up the stairs, following the high pitched squeals and shouts…Yep, this would be a much better summer than the years before.

* * *

**AN: Just a reminder, I will be away and out of town from Friday until Monday night so my next chapter will be sometime early next week. As always, any comments, questions, or concerns feel free to PM me. Reviews are of course welcomed and enjoyed!  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Sorry this took a bit longer than i had planned to get posted. I ended up working a bunch extra this week so I could be home tonight and tomorrow for the NFL Draft. As per request from a bunch of you guys, I will be updating every four days or so from now on instead of every seven. Of course, this means my chapters will be a bit smaller, but i will still make them lengthy and the wait time should be much less for all of those people, who like me, hate waiting so long between updates! This chapter will take us through the rest of summer and right up to the train ride back to school. There will be some new future plots introduced in this chapter if you know where to look, plus more interactions between Harry and the Greengrass's. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of it, Rowling does. Some plot and dialog may seem familiar from her books, and she owns those too. This applies to the entire story!**

* * *

The summer had been pretty good so far. I had been free to work on my magic, even teaching Daphne alongside of me, and my fighting skills were increasing greatly. I knew that with Voldemort not actually being dead, there was a great chance I would have to fight him again one day. I didn't have to protect just myself, but Violet as well. He had discovered her before I could learn Occlumency and I knew that he would one day strike at her if he got the chance.

I didn't know how old Voldemort was, but I knew that he had years of experience that I just didn't have. However, there were a few things that I could do to give me an advantage. I had been studying my Ancient Runes almost religiously and there were quite a few rituals that I was going to be ready to try out this coming school year.

While I was still a bit away from doing any of the more advanced ones, there were some that I could do that would still help. I knew that I wouldn't be able to catch up to Voldemort on spell selection anytime soon, but there was more to dueling than just what spells you could cast. Very few spells did mass damage and most could be easily be avoided if you were fast enough. I planned on doing just that. While the rituals that gave high reward were still above me, there were quite a few rituals that would enhance my body, making me slightly stronger, faster, and heal faster.

I had managed to read through the book on Necromancy, and while it was loaded with powerful magic, I didn't quite find what I was looking for. I was currently lying in bed reading through it once again to make sure I hadn't missed anything. I found several things that dealt with body revival, but each one had its own flaws that I wasn't quite sure how to overcome. The one that was the least helpful was Inferius.

I flipped through the pages to find the entry that had mentioned them.

_The Inferi are gaunt, skeletal beings that closely resemble zombies. Being human corpses, they have individual appearances based on the humans they were created from._

_Inferi have no free will, and cannot think for themselves; their purpose is merely to serve as puppets of the Dark Wizard who reanimated them. As no spell can bring back the dead, the Inferi are not alive, just corpse puppets. Despite this, they can apparently speak._

_Due to their status as being unfeeling dead, the Inferi are immune to bodily damages such as slashing, and have great physical strength, enough to kill a human or drag them away. Due to their superior strength, they are especially dangerous en masse._

_Inferi can be created with a spell, but the Inferi created this way will only last as long as the magic the user put into his spell lasts. For long term use of Inferi, it is best to use Runes so as to draw magic from the earth around it to power the Inferi indefinitely._

_Because Inferi are creatures of the dark, they dislike light and heat. The most effective spell against them is therefore a fire-summoning spell, such as Firestorm. Other spells might work against a few Inferi, but might not be useful against a whole army of them. It must be noted that Inferi are resistant to most spells: they cannot feel pain, and thus are unaffected by many attacks whose main effect is pain such as the Cruciatus Curse._

From the sound of them, they were merely an animated corpse that didn't actually house the soul of a person. It was nowhere close to what I had been looking for. I flipped through the book a bit more to the next thing that had been close to what I was looking for. The Rudimentary Body Potion.

_The origins of the rudimentary body potion is unknown. Two of its main ingredients are Unicorn blood and snake venom (see full list of ingredients and brewing directions below). The drinker must continuously drink the potion every few hours in order to maintain the little health that they have regained._

_The potion and its associated rituals are able to create a rudimentary body for a disembodied soul-fragment to be directly transferred into. The body will be a physical representation of the user's soul, and will retained some of the user's original body's distinctive characteristics. If the soul has been torn, as if from creating a Horcrux, the body will represent that, being slightly smaller, and wrinkled with red and scaly skin. This body's physical abilities will be extremely limited and while in this form, the user will need someone to transport him from place to place and tend to him constantly. While in this form, your magical powers will also be greatly reduced, although a powerful wizard will still have enough to cast some magic._

_This body is not meant to be a permanent solution and should be followed by the use of a Regeneration Potion to finally restore your true body and abilities._

This was closer to what I was looking for, but the body just wouldn't work. Violet needed something that wasn't weak and grotesque. I had found another ritual that would have been perfect that worked in conjunction to this ritual, if it wasn't for one thing. The Regeneration Potion.

_The regeneration potion is a dark potion that restores a wizard whose body has become maimed and disfigured to their true and whole bodily form._

_The potion requires a cauldron large enough for a grown man to sit in as well as three crucial ingredients: bone unknowingly taken from the wizard's father, flesh willingly sacrificed from one of his servants, and the blood forcibly extracted from one of his foes (full list of ingredients can be found below with proper brewing instructions)._

_This potion is not intended for ghosts or spirits, and the user must have a physical manifestation of a body. Soul's bound to this plane, such as those bound to this world by use of a Horcrux, may first use The Rudimentary Body Potion to require the physical body that is required to undergo the regeneration potion._

This ritual would have worked perfectly, if it wasn't for one key flaw...Violet did not have a father, and finding the bone of her father would be all but impossible. I still didn't know how she even came to exist, so even if she did have a father, I had no clue who it would be. Even on the off chance that her father was someone absurd as Voldemort, we still would be out of luck with finding a bone, as he didn't have any. Thankfully, Violet had only mentioned Voldemort being her father as a joke, we may not have known the truth to her origin yet, but even that sounded farfetched as an excuse.

As far as what we were looking for, that was all the help that the Necromancy book had been. Of course there was one interesting part towards the back of the book that mentioned a ritual to achieve unaided flight. While very advanced, the ritual didn't look to be anything I could achieve within the next year or two. The only problem was the fact that it had to have the sacrifice of a ghost in order to work.

I flipped towards the back of the book and re-read the short intro that had the ritual I would need.

_Attempts to fly unaided have been made by wizards since ancient times. Levitation has been possible at least since the invention of the Levitation Charm in ancient England, and an attempt to improve upon this and achieve true flight made by Jarleth Hobart in 1544 led to the invention of the Levitation Charm. The flying broomstick, which allows wizards to fly with relative ease and convenience, was invented around 962 A.D., and seemed to satisfy most wizards' desire to fly. True, unaided flight of a human being, however, was long considered a magical impossibility._

_There are however, two relatively unknown ways to produce flight. Unsupported flight can be achieved with a mere simple spell that will allow a witch or wizard to fly without the use of a broomstick or other form of support. It is different from levitation, which only allows one to hover a few feet off the ground and does not allow for movement._

_Unsupported Flight does have its own weaknesses when compared to our next form of flight, Ghosting. The ritual, the instructions of which are listed below, harnesses the essence of a ghost and infuses them with the caster of the ritual. There have been very few documented cases of someone achieving this ritual, as it is almost impossible to capture a ghost and therefore must find one to agree to the ritual, however, it is believed that the ghost is merged with the wizards ability to turn into an Animagus, which will allow the wizard to 'transform' into a Spectre or ghost-like version of themselves._

_The transformation can achieve the same thing as Unsupported Flight with a few added abilities. The main ones among them being the ability become invisible and to fly through walls, or Ghost as its name suggests. The only downside compared to Unsupported Flight, is the inability to use magic, as all possessions on the user will also be transformed along with them._

It sounded very useful...and very difficult. I didn't know any magic that could incapacitate or capture a ghost, and I didn't know any ghosts that would sacrifice themselves willingly for me either.

* * *

I was brought out of my reading by a short knock on the door before it opened.

"Hey Daph." I greeted as a head of long blonde hair poked out from behind my door.

"Hey Harry." Daphne smiled. "Father says that we will be headed to the Alley to do our school shopping shortly. We will be leaving in about an hour."

"We have an hour." I smiled at her. "You can come in and chat for a bit you know?"

Daphne closed the door behind her as she made her way into the room I had called my own for almost two months before taking a seat on the bed beside me.

"So what are you reading?" she asked, nodding towards the Necromancy book I had just placed in the side table.

"Oh, you know me." I grinned at her. "Just tips on world domination and how to create an army of enchanted teddy bears."

Daphne and I laughed as we remembered when she animated Astoria's teddy bear to attack her when she went to sleep the night after she told me about what she had read in Daphne's diary. I picked on her a few times the next day, but when she sent the same teddy after me the next night I promptly stopped. Who knew that her Animation Charms would be so good? Although it did teach me a good lesson...always sleep with your wand within arm's reach.

"So, we got our school letters over a week ago." I started. "Why take so long to do your school shopping? I picked up my books the same day."

"Lockhart." Daphne sneered.

"Lockhart?" I asked confused. "What does he have to do with anything?"

"Astoria is a huge fan." Daphne snorted. "Apparently, Lockhart is going to be doing a book signing at Flourish and Blotts today and she hasn't shut up about it for the last two weeks."

"Lockhart...that's the guy who wrote our new Defense books right?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

Daphne nodded. "Yeah, whoever the new Defense Professor is must be a huge fan."

"I am still trying to figure out how those books can be used to teach. They read as a story and don't actually even have spells in the books, other than a mention of using them."

"You've read them already?" Daphne asked astonished. "How did you find the time?"

"I read the first two and then just skimmed through the rest." I laughed. "Once I realized that at the same time as Lockhart was supposed to be defeating that werewolf, he was also spending his 'Year with the Yeti'. He obviously couldn't have been in both places at once."

"You think they are just that? Stories?" Daphne asked.

"Who knows." I shrugged. "Just for kicks I looked into it briefly, and both stories were reported to have actually happened. I don't really care if he did them or not, it isn't like I am ever going to meet him."

'What's the matter Harry?' Violet teased. 'You don't want to meet the hero of women everywhere today?'

'Pffft, not hardly.' I drawled. 'As you stated…hero of women. Last I checked I didn't qualify for the role of female.'

'You got that right!' Violet grinned. 'I've seen the proof of that several times!'

'Pervert…' I muttered.

* * *

The door to my bedroom opened and a dark haired missile bolted inside. Astoria ran towards the bed, jumping on me in the process.

"Harry!" Astoria cheered happily. She had almost attached herself to my hip since day one. Apparently she had it in her mind that I was going to be marrying Daphne before third year was done and she would finally have a brother. "Daddy says we are about to leave and you promised you would come with me!"

"Yeah, yeah…I'm coming." I told her standing up. "Besides someone has to keep the boys away from bothering your sister." I grinned at Daphne as she glared at me. I picked Astoria up by the waist and threw her over my shoulder before running for the door and downstairs towards the fireplace.

"You three ready?" Astrid asked, smirking at a squirming Astoria who was trying to free herself from my grasp as I was tickling her sides.

"Yeah, just have to do one more thing." I smirked as I set Astoria on her feet and threw in some floo powder into the fireplace. I stepped in and right before I called out "The Leaky Cauldron" I snagged Astoria's wrist and pulled her in with me, wrapping my arms around her tightly so she wouldn't fall out at the wrong gate. Within seconds I slid out of the floo at the pub on my back with a grinning ten year old laying on top of me.

"That was fun!" Astoria giggled. "Let's do it again, Harry!"

"Fun for you maybe." I mumbled at my obviously bad idea as the rest of the Greengrass's stepped out of the floo.

"I see you have discovered why we only floo one at a time, Harry?" Cyrus chuckled while Astrid and Daphne were laughing at me behind their hands.

Cyrus reached down to help me up before cleaning the dust from mine and Astoria's robes. "Well we have much to do today" he spoke afterwards. "The quicker we hurry, the quicker we will be done."

"And the quicker I never have to hear about Lockhart anymore." Daphne mumbled loud enough so only I could hear, causing me to grin.

"Hey, it could be worse." I joked. "At least you don't have to put up with him year round like I do with Snape."

"Thank Merlin for that." Daphne shuddered.

When we arrived at Flourish and Blotts, we were by no means the only ones making their way to the bookshop. There was quite a large crowd outside already jostling outside the doors, trying to get in. Overhead I could see a large banner with a picture of Lockhart on it, next to it, stretched across the upper windows:

GILDEROY LOCKHART will be signing copies of his autobiography MAGICAL ME today 12:30 P.m. to 4:30 P.m.

The crowd outside seemed to be made up mostly of older witches and younger girls. A harassed-looking wizard stood at the door, saying, "Calmly, please, ladies…Don't push, there…mind the books, now…"

The five of us squeezed inside. A long line wound right to the back of the shop, where Gilderoy Lockhart was signing his books. Daphne grabbed a copy of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 and moodily stood in line so Astoria could get his autograph.

Lockhart came slowly into view, seated at a table surrounded by large pictures of his own face, all winking and flashing dazzlingly white teeth at the crowd. The real Lockhart was wearing robes of forget-me-not blue that exactly matched his eyes; his pointed wizard's hat was set at a jaunty angle on his wavy hair.

A short, irritable-looking man was dancing around taking photographs with a large black camera that emitted puffs of purple smoke with every blinding flash.

"Out of the way, there." He snarled towards someone on the other side of the line, moving back to get a better shot. "This is for the Daily Prophet!"

I couldn't make out who he was talking to or what that person's response to him was, but I did notice when Lockhart gasped while staring in that direction.

"It can't be Neville Longbottom?" the crowd parted, Lockhart coming forward quickly, seized Longbottom's arm, and pulled him to the front. Longbottom didn't look happy to be man-handled, but cheered up when the large crows started to cheer loudly for him. Both Lockhart and Longbottom smiled widely as they shook hands for the photographer, who was clicking away madly, wafting thick smoke over the crowd.

Longbottom was just about to step off the stage when Lockhart threw an arm around his shoulders, clamping him tightly to his side.

"Ladies and gentleman," he said loudly, waving for quiet. "What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on or some time!"

'I have a bad feeling about this.' Violet whispered to me.

'Same here.' I replied. '…and stop whispering.' I added jokingly, gaining a glare from Violet.

"When young Neville here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography, which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge…" The crowd applauded again. "He had no idea!" Lockhart continued, giving Longbottom a little shake. "That he would shortly be getting much, much more that my book, Magical Me. He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentleman, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

The crowd cheered and clapped as Longbottom found himself being presented with the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart. He was staggering slightly under their weight as he made his way out of the limelight to the edge of the room, where Granger and a bunch of the younger Weasley's were standing.

I stopped paying attention to them as Malfoy made his way over towards them. I knew that the only thing interesting that would follow from that might be a fight, and I would rather just have Astoria get her autograph and get out before we were trampled by the crowd.

It wasn't five minutes later before that fight did break out…but it wasn't Malfoy and the trio involved this time…well not the youngest Malfoy anyhow. A tall, pale man with long hair the same shade as Draco's was throwing punches with a balding red-head who could only be the father of the Weasley's.

While everyone was distracted by the two purebloods fighting like Muggle children, I quickly picked Astoria up by the waist and slipped straight to the front of the line. I didn't want to be in here any longer than necessary. The fight had been ended by Hagrid only moments later and the two Malfoy's strode off with a few parting words that I couldn't quite hear, but thankfully a blushing Astoria was able to get her autographed version of Magical Me.

I pulled Astoria over to her parents and sister, who had all failed to notice that we had skipped line.

"I got it!" Astoria squealed, holding up her new book, freshly signed by Lockhart. Cyrus and Astrid smiled politely at her enthusiasm while Daphne continued to glare at me.

'I think you are in trouble, Harry!' Violet laughed.

'Wish I knew what for this time.' I grumbled.

"Any particular reason you are looking at me like your about to kill me?" I asked Daphne with a large smile.

"It could be worse!" she mocked angrily. "At least you don't have to deal with him all year long like I do with Snape. Blah. Blah. Blah! You just had to open your mouth and jinx it didn't you?"

"Now, Daph…" I grinned widely at her. "It could be worse…"

"You finish that sentence and you won't be able to sit down for a month!" Daphne growled as she glared at me. Cyrus and Astrid were laughing at me in the background.

"At least it was Longbottom who got pulled up on that stage and not you!" I said quickly as I ducked behind Astoria for cover…just in case.

"Hey! Don't use me as a shield you chicken!" Astoria said trying to squirm away and out of the line of fire from Daphne. I snaked my arm around her tiny waist and pulled her tight so she couldn't get away.

"Hey, at least your teddy bear didn't have actual claws when she sent it after you." I tried to explain. "So you get to be my shield just in case she attacks."

"Alright you three." Cyrus interrupted us a few seconds later still chuckling at us. "We should probably go finish our shopping so we can head home."

"That's a good idea, father." Daphne smiled looking straight at me…it was a smile that said I was screwed. "There aren't as many witnesses there."

'Yeah, your screwed Harry' Violet giggled.

'Hey, aren't you supposed to be on my side and…you know…protect me and stuff?' I begged.

'She is twelve.' Violet deadpanned. 'It isn't like she is going to kill you.'

'No…she wouldn't do that. It would be the easy way out.' I grinned. I always did love a challenge, and Daphne made things much more challenging than most people when it came to most things. 'She would want me to have to suffer as much pain as possible before she would ever kill me.'

'Smart girl!' Violet giggled. 'I can't wait to meet her!'

'Bugger…' I sighed. Those two together were going to drive me to St. Mungo's for a mental breakdown one day…I could just feel it.

'You're tough.' Violet smiled. 'You will be fine, I am sure of it…mostly.'

"Hey Daph…" I said throwing my arm around her shoulder. "Have I told you how beautiful you look? You're looking more like you mother every day!"

"Nice try, Potter!" she glared at me, although she did have the faintest traces of a smile on her face. "But I'm still going to get you…you just won't know when it's coming."

"How about I teach you the Stunning Spell?" I asked. "Will that work?"

"Perhaps." Daphne grinned. "And you let me beat you for a change in our practice duels."

I agreed with her, but still felt like I was going to end up regretting it anyhow. I would probably end up upside down and stuck to the wall when she was done. Daphne was a feisty one and also gave it as good as she got it. Of course, I knew she wasn't actually mad. She just liked to make me think she was so I would be scared…not that I ever was…nope, definitely not!

I knew she would wait until she thought I wasn't ready for it before she would strike. It was never anything harmful, just embarrassing, but it was great practice for if someone was trying to ambush me in real life, so I found it rather fun. Which was usually why I would instigate her so often. That and there was something about the way she looked as she glared at you, trying to kill you with her stare alone.

The five of us made the rounds and finished Daphne's school shopping. I had already made a visit to the goblins a week ago to fill up my money pouches, so I was all set there. It was just past lunch time when the five of us finally stepped out of the Floo back at Greengrass Manor.

* * *

The rest of the summer saw me taking my final Occlumency lesson with Cyrus. I was thankful for not just the vow, but the fact I got along so well with him, as he had pretty much learned my life story over the past eight months. I had finally mastered my emotions and clearing my mind. I was now working on creating false memories that could be used to trick a Legilimens or even be implanted into someone else.

Cyrus and I had sat down a couple times so he could 'talk' with Violet...which was weird to be honest. I felt silly relaying messages that would make it seem as if I was just making it up as I went along. We didn't really discuss anything that would give away our plans, as there was just some things I didn't want anyone to know, such as the exact details of what happened the night I had killed Quirrell.

Overall, the summer had been easily the best of my life, but I was still glad that it was time to head back to Hogwarts. I had spent enough time relaxing, not that I hadn't been studying quite a bit during the summer, but I still had many miles to travel on the road to finding Violet a body.

Finally it was September first, and I got the...privilege...to be awoken by a much too hyper, Astoria.

"Harry!" Astoria shouted, while jumping on top of me. "We have to leave for the train station in just a few hours and I won't get to see you for almost a whole year! Wake up and come play with me!"

"It's like six in the morning!" I grumbled as I pulled her down on the bed by her arm, grabbing her into a headlock. "What are you doing awake already?"

"I wanted to hang out before you left!" Astoria whined while trying to struggle out of my grasp.

"Well, we will see if you still feel that way once I'm done!" I laughed as I started to tickle her furiously.

"Harry! Stop! It tickles!" she started laughing, breathing hard.

"This is what you get for waking me up so early!" I teased her.

"I won't do it again! Promise!" she begged, tears coming down from laughing so hard.

Getting an idea I stopped. "I'll let you go, but we have to go pull a prank on Daphne!" I grinned.

"Ok!" she smiled. "It's your funeral, cause I'm blaming you!" she laughed.

"Let's go wake her up!" I grinned, conjuring a large bucket of cold water.

It was only a minute later that a loud scream, followed by death threats, made sure that everyone in the manor was awake.

* * *

"Hey Wayne." I greeted as he entered the compartment already shared by Daphne, Tracey, and Myself. "Good summer?"

"It was great!" Wayne said enthusiastically. "Judging by the deadly glare Daphne is giving you I assume hers wasn't so good?"

"She is just mad at Harry!" Tracey giggled. "He and Astoria woke her up this morning by pouring cold water on her head!"

"And to think...I thought you were smarter than that, Harry!" Wayne grinned. "Everyone knows you don't piss off a lady."

"It ain't my fault!" I complained. "Stupid Astoria woke me up and I wasn't thinking clearly yet. Besides I don't know why she is mad...she already tried to drown me after wards!"

"Yeah, but then you got the bright idea that since tickling Astoria worked, it would work on Daphne too." Tracey added.

"Hey!" I protested. "It isn't my fault it caused her to pee herself!"

"I didn't pee myself you prat!" Daphne shouted. "I was already soaked from when you woke me up!"

"Technically, it was Astoria that woke you up." I countered.

"Yeah, but you told her too." Daphne glared at me.

"But you will forgive me right?" I asked with a puppy dog look in my eyes.

"Eventually." she smirked. "But you won't enjoy it in the mean time."

'Sounds like you better watch your back, Harry.' Violet giggled.

'I was really hoping the puppy dog look would work.' I replied. 'It always works when you use it on me.'

'Yeah, cause your a softy and I have you wrapped around my finger.' Violet smirked.

'That ain't even close to fair.' I complained.

"So did you guys hear about what happened with the gateway onto the platform?" Wayne finally asked.

"No we got here pretty early." Tracey answered him. "Why, what happened?"

"Apparently when Longbottom and Weasley tried to get through the archway, it wouldn't let them in." Wayne told her. "It took the adults like ten minutes to get through to the other side. Apparently, they were just in time because Weasley was busy trying to talk Longbottom into flying his dads car to Hogwarts."

"Even Weasley couldn't be that stupid could he?" I asked incredulously. "Not only is it illegal to enchant a Muggle car, but how did they plan on not getting spotted by a thousand Muggles on the way through London?"

"Oh it is illegal alright, at least that is what Susan's aunt was yelling at Mr. Weasley. I think she works for the ministry." Wayne laughed. "Come to find out, not only can it fly, but they even enchanted it to become invisible. I bet the Weasley's get a huge fine from it."

"I don't see how they could afford to buy all of those Lockhart books, not to mention pay any fines." Tracey scoffed.

"True." I replied. "And I hear they have another Weasley joining the ranks this year...I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't get their own house at Hogwarts before too long."

"Well, we have a few hours to kill." Wayne said pulling out a deck of Muggle playing cards. "Want to teach the girls how to play Spades?"

"Sure, I will teach Daphne, while you teach Tracey." I told him, hoping to score some brownie points.

"You better be a good teacher, Potter." Daphne huffed as we all changed seats to play the game.

"Of course, Miss Madam Awesomeness!" I teased her with a fake salute.

"You better watch it." she glared.

"Watching you is much more fun than watching it." I teased as she punched me in the shoulder.

"Just get over here and teach me!" she barked out.

The four of us settled in for a fun ride to Hogwarts. It would be one of the few times I would be able to just sit and goof off. I had much to do this year at Hogwarts and I was going to enjoy the down time while I could.

* * *

**AN: So I hope you liked it guys. I am planning on having the next chapter around four days from now, the NFL Draft is the next three days, so there is a small chance that I may get slowed down because of it, but I will do my best! As always, please review and comment. I promise I read every single one of them!  
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	9. Chapter 9

**AN: A special happy birthday goes out to Shadowz101, whose the reason i finished this chapter a day early for you guys. Drop by some times and read his work, it is definitely worth the read! Now, here we go for year 2! Harry will definitely be stepping up his game, and you will see more of his determination and ruthlessness starting to show through. Also there will be an important AN at the bottom of this chapter.  
**

**Disclaimer: As always anything you read or see is owned by Rowling and not myself. Some parts of this chapter and those in the future may seem familiar from her books.**

* * *

The first week back at Hogwarts had been...busy. Classes were much the same as they were last year, well except for Defense. Turns out Daphne has company for people who can't stand Lockhart. While I had no plans to even meet the guy, I was indifferent to him. Now that I had actually had a class with him...not so indifferent.

I still look back and laugh at what had happened during the class.

I took a seat with a scowling Daphne at the back of the class, Tracey and Wayne took the desk next to us. Out of all of our classes Defense Against the Dark Arts was the only one that was shared by all four houses. Daphne and I didn't even bother unpacking the seven Lockhart books, hell I didn't even find them worth carrying around in my school bag.

Once the entire class was seated, Lockhart cleared his throat loudly and silence fell. He reached forward, picked up Weasley's used copy of Travels with Trolls, and held it up to show his own, winking portrait on the front.

"Me," he said, pointing at it and winking as well. "Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class...and Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, as well as five-time winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award...But I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her."

He waited for the class to laugh; a few people smiled weakly and Daphne scowled even harder.

"I see you've all bought a complete set of my books...well done! I thought we'd start today with a little quiz. Nothing to worry about, just to check how well you've read them, how much you've...taken in.

When he had handed out the test papers he returned to the front of the class and said, "You have thirty minutes, start...now!"

I looked down at my paper and had to hold back a snort as I read:

What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?

What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?

What, in your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date?

On and on it went, over three sides of paper, right down to:

When is Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday, and what would his ideal gift be?

'Are you serious?' I asked incredulously. 'I knew the guy was incompetent, but did he really have to make it this bloody obvious?'

'Some people can easily overlook what is staring them in the face.' Violet said, gesturing to the girls in the class, where a large majority seemed to have no problem finding Lockhart fascinating...Other than Daphne of course. She was too busy trying to light the test on fire with her gaze alone.

'There is no way I'm wasting my time actually trying to answer these questions.' I scowled. 'It is a waste of bloody time!'

'Well we could always have fun with them?' Violet asked mischievously. 'Perhaps we could knock him down a peg or two!'

"Don't tell me you are actually going to fill this ridiculous thing out?" Daphne asked me disbelievingly as I scribbled in 'Puke' for my answer to the first question.

"Not hardly!" I scoffed, directing her to look at what my answer was, causing her to snort and shake her head.

I wrote down 'To not be discovered as a fraud' to question number two, and 'Not having been discovered as a fraud so far' for number three. On and on I went with absurd answers to his even more absurd questions. Down the line I went, right up until I wrote 'The week after Dumbledore, and some talent in something other than being a fraud' for question number fifty.

Daphne snorted loudly when she read my answer for that question.

* * *

Half an hour later, Lockhart collected the papers and rifled through them in front of the class

"Tut, tut...hardly any of you remembered that my favorite color is lilac. I say so in Year with the Yeti. And a few of you need to read Wanderings with Werewolves more carefully. I clearly state in chapter twelve that my ideal birthday gift would be harmony between all magic and non-magic peoples...though I wouldn't say no to a large bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhisky!"

He gave the class another roguish wink. Weasley and Longbottom were staring at Lockhart with an expression of disbelief on their faces; Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, who were sitting in the front, were shaking with silent laughter. Granger, on the other hand, was listening to Lockhart with rapt attention.

Lockhart scanned through a few more papers before he stopped and scowled real hard at one before blanching slightly. He tried to hide his shock at the paper before quickly moving on. Finally, he managed to shake Granger out of her own world as he mentioned her name.

"Miss Hermione Granger...well done! She knew my secret ambition is to rid the world of evil and market my own range of hair-care potions...good girl! In fact..." he flipped her paper over. "Full marks! Where is Miss Hermione Granger?"

She raised a trembling hand, all the while Daphne was looking at her like she couldn't believe she had actually remembered all of the answers to his ridiculous questions.

"Excellent!" beamed Lockhart. "Quite excellent! Take ten points for Gryffindor! And so...to business."

He bent down behind his desk and lifted a large, covered cage onto it.

"Now...be warned! It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizardkind! You may find yourselves facing you worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here. All I ask is that you remain calm."

In spite of myself, I leaned around Susan, who was sitting in the desk in front of me, for a better look at the cage. Lockhart placed a hand over the cover. Thomas and Finnigan had stopped laughing now.

"I must ask you not to scream," said Lockhart in a low voice. "It might provoke them!"

As the whole class held its breath...well except for Daphne who was starting to nod off, Lockhart whipped off the cover.

"Yes," he said dramatically. "Freshly caught Cornish pixies."

Seamus Finnigan couldn't control himself. He let out a snort of laughter that even Lockhart couldn't mistake for a scream of terror.

"Yes?" He smiled at Finnigan.

"Well, they're not...they're not very...dangerous, are they?" he choked.

"Don't be so sure!" said Lockhart, waggling a finger annoyingly at Seamus. "Devilishly tricky little blighters they can be!"

The pixies were electric blue and about eight inches high, with pointed faces and voices so shrill it was like listening to a lot of budgies arguing. The moment the cover had been removed, they had started jabbering and rocketing around, rattling the bars and making bizarre faces at the people nearest them.

"Right, then." Lockhart said loudly.

'Please don't tell me he is dumb enough to let them out?' I begged Violet.

"Let's see what you make of them!" And he opened the cage.

'Apparently he is.' Violet laughed.

The man apparently has no idea what he is doing. Letting a cage full of Cornish Pixies loose in a classroom full of twelve year old children was just plain idiotic. Although it had been kind of funny when they tried to lift Longbottom up by his ears. They failed of course, but they did almost rip his ears off before Granger managed to fight them back.

Lockhart was a curious case, and I didn't outright hate him as Daphne did...no, I was curious. It was obvious to anybody with a brain that the man was incompetent. He would be right at home selling his books as entertaining fantasy...except that the situations in his books actually happened and there are verified accounts of several of the monsters in his books terrorizing people before meeting their end. I wasn't sure how he was doing it just yet, as he was somehow duping a bunch of people, but I would definitely be looking in to it.

I decided that enough was enough when the little bugger's started to try and harass me and Daphne. Lockhart was currently hiding under his table, having dove under it to reclaim his wand which the pixies had stolen and tossed. Though, to be honest, I wasn't sure why he wanted it so badly. The only spell he had even tried to cast was obviously a dud.

"Immobulous!" I said calmly as a pixie tried to grab Daphne's hair, freezing it in midair.

I rapidly repeated the process a dozen times until I had secured all of the pixies back into their cage, at which point did Lockhart finally come back out from behind his desk.

"Very good, Mister..." Lockhart began, trying to smooth his crumpled hair.

"Potter." I drawled, causing him to pause at my name for a second.

"Yes, well, very good Mister Potter, ten points to Hufflepuff!" Lockhart said, still eying me. "Class will be dismissed, Mr. Potter, please stay behind."

* * *

"You wanted to see me…professor." I quickly added to the end, albeit grudgingly.

"Good work out there, Mr. Potter." Lockhart smiled. "You remind me of myself when I was your age. Minus the great hair and brilliant smile of course." He chuckled out the last part.

"Uhh…Thanks?" I asked, confused at what he wanted. "Is that all then professor?"

"Wha…oh no, no, no. Come, Mr. Potter, join me in my office for a moment would you? I would like to discuss with you the answers you wrote on your test in class." Lockhart tried to smile, but I could still see the forcefulness behind it.

I as weary of actually following him to his office, but I was sure that if need be I could defend myself against him…and besides I didn't actually have any thing on him that would give me reason to not go.

"Of course, professor. Lead the way." I smiled charmingly.

Lockhart swiftly turned and headed up the short spiral staircase that led to his office, with me following him at a normal pace. His office, like his classroom, was covered in pictures of smiling Lockhart's, each one beaming for the camera. A few pictures were scattering as we entered as they either had their hair in curlers or in some other situation they might consider a fashion disaster.

"I take it you were unsatisfied by my answers, professor?" I smiled as he closed the door, his smile diminishing severely.

"While I was never one to let fame go to my head," Lockhart started, his stomach churning smile forcefully back in place. "Some of your answers could be deemed quite hurtful, not to mention damaging to my image. I am curious as to why you seem to have such a dislike for me?"

'As if he needs your words to damage his image.' Violet snorted. 'Anyone who saw his performance today wouldn't need to look any further than that to know he is a fraud.'

'It's weird.' I pondered. 'It's almost as if he believes the crap that spews out of his mouth.'

'You keep telling yourself something long enough, and you will eventually start to believe it.' Violet responded before she started to grin. 'I keep telling myself that you are going to get me a baby dragon one day. I am sure that I will start believing it one day.'

'Fine…I will get you a baby dragon!' I huffed, hiding my grin.

'REALLY!' she squealed.

'Yep, I will buy you a brand new stuffed dragon teddy for Christmas.' I laughed.

'I hate you!' she pouted.

"I do not dislike you professor." I smiled to him. "I was merely pointing out my own personal observations."

"I am curious how you could come to such an observation, Mr. Potter." Lockhart asked, his smile slipping slightly.

"Well…for starters," I began, deciding to take a risk and see if I couldn't bait him into talking. I was betting on the fact that if he couldn't handle a simple pixie, then I should be able to at least stun him before he could hurt me. "You are supposedly spending the entire year from May of eighty-five until May of eighty-six with the Yeti's near the Himalayan Mountains, yet you somehow defeated that werewolf in Prague, in October of eighty-five, and battled and killed the vampire in Transylvania in February of eighty-six. Quite the accomplishment for someone who never left the Himalaya's for the entire year."

"That is quite the observation, Mr. Potter." Lockhart's smile forcefully fixed onto his face. "Anything else?"

"A few." I smiled playfully. "The biggest of which is me wondering how you could have defeated a so many fearsome creatures…yet you can't even handle a simple cage full of pixies. _Peskipiksi Pesternomi_ is such a terrible spell, I am surprised you could even say the words without puking on the shit flying out of your mouth…professor."

'Wow…' Violet breathed. 'Really kicked him in the balls on that one Harry.'

'Manipulate someone's emotions enough and they get mad.' I told her. 'Angry people don't make smart decisions. They get reckless and do something they wouldn't normally do…in this case I am hoping that it is him revealing his secrets.'

'What? Are you going to blackmail him Harry?' Violet laughed.

'Of course!' I smiled. 'He may be nearly useless, but he has fame…and fame has uses of its own.'

"You should have been a Slytherin, Mr. Potter." Lockhart finally said, his smile long since gone. "Then again…a Slytherin wouldn't have foolishly attacked me to my face."

"Is that so, professor?" I asked, wondering what he had planned, my hand moving subtly closer to my wand…just in case I did need it.

"You are not the first to be suspicious of me, Mr. Potter." Lockhart smiled, this one in triumph, not joy. "Of course they all ended the same. I am a half-blood you see, raised by my Muggle father and half-blood mother, in a Muggle environment. Both of my older sisters were Muggles as well, but not me.

My mother loved me the most, I could do things my sisters couldn't in life. To her I was special, and her treatment of it showed. By the time I came to Hogwarts, I had plans…great plans. I was almost sorted into Slytherin myself, but the hat ended up choosing Ravenclaw. My mother and I failed to take into account that there were others who could do magic as well. I will admit I was vain and arrogant in my youth. My vanity led me to undervalue my education. Of course, I still had the dream to be famous, just not the drive.

By the time I had graduated from here, my other classmates had all but passed me by. It was only by a stroke of luck that I was able to find someone with a special talent who was willing to teach me for the right price. It was then that my plan for fame came to exist…why should I need to do great and heroic deeds when I now had to ability to make others forget theirs, while I claimed them for my own.

So I went from place to place, tricking accomplished witches and wizards into revealing their greatest deeds and then erasing the memories of them. Each time I would return to Britain with a new book. Meanwhile, I was able to skip the hard work and live the life I have always deserved!"

We sat and looked at each other for a few moments before I snorted. "And you call me foolish." I chuckled. "I called you out…but you divulged your entire secret to me. Then again, the hat did decide you didn't have what it took to be in Slytherin after all."

Lockhart looked at me for a second before he started to smile again. "Now, now, Mr. Potter. You didn't actually think I was going to just let you walk out of here while still remembering it did you? No…I'm afraid you won't remember any of this here in a few moments, just like all of the others before you. I can't have you spreading my secrets all over the place, now can I?"

"Very well, Professor." I smirked. "Would you like to play the part of the unstoppable force, or the immovable object?"

"Clever, but you forget I was Muggle raised." Lockhart grinned. "They cannot exist simultaneously, so it does not matter which I am, I win either way. I shall see you around Mr. Potter. Obliviate!"

I braced myself, making sure my mind was completely cleared. It was one of the benefits to Occlumency…a clear mind had nothing that could be Obliviated…making his spell as useless against me as his earlier one against the pixies. While a Legilimency probe could just dig around and drag memories from an uncleared mind, the Obliviation Spell could not. I could feel the heavy mist floating around my mind, searching for something to erase. Finally with a frustrated growl, Lockhart ended the spell.

"Impossible!" he snarled. "How can I not sense your memories?"

I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped my lips. "It would seem as if I am the Immovable Object after all…and you just tried to Obliviate a minor. I do believe that is an automatic ten year sentence in Azkaban you know?"

Lockhart paled as the severity of his failure started to sink it.

"Expelliarmus! Incarcerus!" I smirked, pointing my own at him as I caught his wand with my left hand. "A Hogwarts teacher attacking one of its students will earn you an even longer sentence dear professor!"

Lockhart looked as if he was about to break. "Wha…what is it you want from m…me? I have gold! I can help make you famous! There has to be something I can do?"

"Now, there is no need to worry so much, Professor." I cooed with a glint in my eyes. There was most definitely something he could do to keep me quiet…at least for now anyhow. "I have absolutely no intentions of turning you in."

"You don't? You don't!" Lockhart exclaimed his smile returning slightly. "Tell me, whatever it is you want or need and it is yours!"

"Excellent!" I smiled. "There are of course several things I need from you. First, you will keep this entire conversation quiet, do you understand me Professor?"

Lockhart must have seen the seriousness in face as he answered. "Of course, of course. Anything else?"

"Of course." I grinned. "Second, you are going to teach me all that you know about Obliviation. Unfortunately, it is a highly restricted piece of magic, and I have been unable to find instruction on how to actually cast it properly. Sure I could copy your wand movements and incant the spell, but at best it would completely wipe somebodies mind. I need to control it. Third, you are going to give me a yearlong pass for the restricted section. It does get quite tiresome having to sneak in during the middle of the night, and I do miss my sleep."

"Of course, I would be more than willing to help!" Lockhart breathed a sigh of relief. "Is there anything else?"

"Only one more thing…for now that is." I grinned. "I'm sure that if I think of something else in the future you will be more than willing to help me out. Am I right?"

"Of course, if it is within my abilities of course." Lockhart beamed.

"Excellent." I smiled, happy with how things had turned out so far. "Now, I do believe all that is left is for your vow."

"Vow?" Lockhart asked warily.

"Of course!" I laughed. "You don't think I will just let you leave with the ability to tell anybody about this do you?" throwing his own words back at him. "You will give me an Unbreakable Vow that makes sure you keep anything you learn in these little…private sessions…to yourself. Are we clear with each other…Professor?"

"O..Of course, Harry." Lockhart said resigned. "But what assurances do I have you will keep your side of the bargain?"

"You don't." A feral grin spreading across my face. "You attacked me remember. I can just go along my merry way while you do at least twenty years in Azkaban. You however, have nothing concrete on me! Now…are you ready for your vow?"

"Yes." Lockhart sighed heavily, before making his vow and then writing up my pass for the Restricted Section.

"I have had fun." I smiled to him as I made my way towards his office door. "I shall see you on Sundays at eight for our lessons, Professor…don't be late."

I closed his office door behind me, my grin threatening to split my face as I left.

'You looked so hot when you are in command like that.' Violet breathed heavily to me. 'If I was a few years older…and had a body I guess…I would have jumped you right there!'

'Wow!' I blinked. 'That is…well…the cue for me to stop reading you all of those romance novels for one thing!'

Violet just laughed.

* * *

Thankfully, Defense classes were our last class on Friday, so I hadn't been late for any of my classes. I still had two days before my first 'lesson' with Lockhart, and all of my homework was caught up…it was only the first week of lessons. So I had some time to kill…well if I was one for wasting time at least.

For now, though, I was about to start doing my rituals. I was going to be starting small just to make sure I didn't screw it up and mess up my body. First, I needed supplies, which is why I was making my way under my invisibility cloak, on a Friday night, towards Snape's classroom. His storeroom would surely have all the ingredients I needed for the ritual.

While quietly snaking my way through the silent corridors, I began to re-read the particular ritual I had in mind for tonight. One of the books I purchased from Knockturn this summer had been a rare book on Body Enhancements from Borgin and Burkes. While a lot of the rituals in there just weren't necessary or even safe enough to be worth it to me just yet, there were plenty of rituals that would be beneficial.

'Are you sure that you should start these rituals by using yourself as a Guinea Pig?' Violet asked concerned.

'Relax love.' I placated her. 'Rituals are the most dangerous when they are modifying your body. The ritual I am doing tonight merely enhances what my body can already do. It will not make me stronger or faster than my body can humanly do, but boost my strength and speed to my bodies natural peek potential. While I am already naturally fast, I will be a good ten to fifteen percent stronger and faster.'

'I trust you Harry.' she replied. 'If you think it is safe, then I know you will be fine.'

'Don't worry.' I told her. 'I won't do anything too stupid that might set us back or cause permanent damage.'

Finally we had reached Snape's classroom.

'It is a shame he keeps his personal storeroom under some heavy protections.' Violet said as I unlocked his classroom and made my way inside.

'True, but for what we need on these basic rituals, the classroom storeroom will do just fine.'

"Let's see what we have." I whispered to myself out loud as I started browsing the shelves. "Antimony? Check. Bat Spleen? Check. Three Caterpillars, two Cinnamon Roots, and five Eel eyes...all check."

'Now we just need some Knotgrass, Moly, and Peppermint.' Violet said, finishing off the list of stuff I would need.

'Check, check, and check!' I said going down the line and pulling out the different ingredients I would need.

'Where are we going to do this at?' Violet asked as I locked up behind ourselves and exited from Snape's classroom.

'Our same abandoned room in the dungeons.' I told her. 'I do need to find a better place to do this for the future. Either a room that is better hidden, or start learning some wards and charms to help secure and hide one better than the few I know now.'

* * *

Invisibility Cloak firmly in place over my body, we made our way deep into the dungeons to the classroom I had scouted out last year. It was in an area of the dungeons that nearly everybody avoided, and judging by the amount of dust that had long since collected on the floors, not even Filch bothered to come down this far any longer.

I cast a notification ward, one of the few wards I had learned so far, at the end of the hall before making my way into the classroom and locking the door to the best of my abilities. I added a few silencing charms around the room for extra measure.

"I pulled my Rune Engraving Kit and the book containing the ritual I was going to be using from one of the pockets of my robes and cast a cushioning charm on my knees before getting to the painstaking process of engraving the rune scheme into the floor.

Rituals and Runes went almost hand in hand. The essentials of all rituals were a rune scheme of some form or another...some larger and more complex than others. Where the process left the field of just Runes and into the field of rituals, was when you added potions, or ingredients as I was about to do. Of course, this made the Runic work that much harder, as you had to add the correct runes that would absorb the sacrificial ingredients that would be absorbed into the main Runes used in the ritual to give the desired effects.

I quickly, but very very carefully, carved the Runic symbols required for the actual ritual into the floor with my Runic Knife. Once I was done with that, I had to carve the Runes that would absorb the Antimony, Bat Spleen, Caterpillars, Cinnamon Roots, Eel Eyes, Knotgrass, Moly, and Peppermint.

After that I had to add the Runic Connectors that would attach the ingredients and their Runes to the main ritual, which was carved around the small circle that I would need to be standing in.

'Well...here goes nothing.' I told Violet as I placed all of the ingredients in the respective places and moved to the center of the circle.

'Good luck Harry.' Violet told me as she double checked to make sure that I hadn't overlooked anything in the Ritual Circle that shouldn't be there.

I drew out my wand and placed the tip into the Ignition Rune that would activate and power the ritual. I could feel the magic flowing through my body as it started to power the circle, but it was still far from draining as it wasn't a very advanced ritual.

As more and more magic was being poured into the circle, it began to glow as each part of it became active. The outer layer, which held the ingredients to be used as sacrifice, flared brightly as the Runes worked on absorbing and transferring their properties and abilities to the main Runic cluster.

Bit by bit the ingredients were absorbed and transferred and I could feel their effects as the inner circle flared brightly and encompassed me in its glow. The slight strain on my body and muscles that was being caused by the constant flow of magic running through it lessened quite a bit as I could feel my body growing stronger. Which would allow me to use more magic in the future before my body started to experience magical exhaustion.

The book on body enhancements had stressed that magic wasn't just some floating ball of magic, or core, that was hidden within your body. It was simply some souls were magical and others were not. Magical souls were able to use magic and non-magical souls were merely considered Muggles. The better shape your body was in, the stronger and more durable your muscles and body were, the more magic your body could handle to be pumped out of it before you experienced magical exhaustion.

Body enhancement rituals were the only way to increase someones magical power. The stronger and more magical you made your body through natural workouts and rituals, the more magic and stronger magic you would be able to use. It was through strong and even dangerous rituals that people, such as Voldemort, were able to become so magically strong. The enhancement I was doing tonight didn't alter my body with any magical properties and thus wasn't very difficult, but it would increase my capabilities for using magic.

As the ritual was completing, the outer rings started to power down, shortly followed by their adjacent rings until with a final bright flare, the entire ritual circle died down. By the time the brightness of the light had left my eyes and allowed me to see again, I found myself kneeling on the floor, breathing slightly heavy.

I could feel the slight increase in my bodies capabilities, my vision was slightly better, my muscles felt slightly more coiled with power, and my reflexes were more acute than ever. My body had been optimized, now functioning at one-hundred percent of what the body of someone my age can be capable of. I wouldn't be anywhere near as strong yet as people like Dumbledore and Voldemort, but I would be easily more magically strong than ninety-nine percent of students here at Hogwarts.

Conjuring up a mirror to look at myself, I couldn't help but smile. 'I look pretty good!' I chuckled as I lifted up my shirt, showing off the thin abs now showing through the skin on my stomach.

'Well...' Violet said. 'I certainly can't wait until I get a body with you looking like that!'

* * *

**AN: Well, I hope you all enjoyed the latest chapter! Things are really starting to heat up and progress forward. As always any comments, questions, or concerns and you can feel free to PM me and I will get back to you. Also compliments of Shadowz101, he has given me the idea of opening up a poll for you, the fans, to vote on a character that will meet their untimely death at the stare of the Basilisk. It CANNOT be any of the primary characters (Characters such as Ginny, Snape, and Malfoy are off limits as some I have plans for already), so just leave a review stating the name of the secondary character (Such as people like Katie Bell, Cedric Diggory, or Lucian Bole) that you would like to see killed. Feel free to submit multiple times, but please only one name per review. Thanks for reading and happy mothers day to all of the moms out there! **


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: So here is chapter 10. I am actually a little upset with how things turned out while writing it. It is nothing against the chapter, but more my own fault. Needless to say i went to catch an hour nap before finishing it today and it turned into an almost seven hour hibernation. So, I apologize if my editing process of this chapter wasn't as thorough as it should have been. Also great response to my poll from last chapter. I will post the results as of so far in the AN below. **

**Disclaimer: Same as the last few have been...Don't own it, and parts may be familiar to canon...Rowling still owns it all.**

* * *

"Hey Daph." I welcomed her as I took a seat at the table next to her in the library.

"Hey Harry." she welcomed as I started to take out my books to do some studying. "How did your meeting with Him go?"

"It was very informative." I chuckled, thinking about how I had successfully coerced him into teaching me how to properly Obliviate someone.

"Really?" she asked skeptically. "I find it hard to believe that you could accomplish anything worthwhile on his account, that man is a fraud!"

"Oh, of that you are entirely correct." I confirmed. "He is not without talent though."

"Pffft." she snorted. "That I will believe when I see it. What talent could he possibly have."

"Let's just say, I want you to keep your mind cleared when your around him and don't go anywhere alone with him." I warned her.

"Legilimency?" she asked.

"No, worse really when you think about it." I told her. "Turns out he is a Master Obliviator, and he has just been stealing his stories from other people and wiping their memories of them."

"No way!" Daphne exclaimed astonished. "You mean that poof actually has some talent after all?"

"Yeah, it was a shock to me too." I laughed.

"Wait...how did you find all of this out?" she asked.

"The fool was upset about what I wrote on that test and when I called him out on being a fraud he spilled the beans on his entire life's story." I chuckled. "Then thought he could just Obliviate me to forget it."

"You mean he tried to Obliviate you?" Daphne almost yelled, earning us a heated look from Madam Pince. "Harry, that is illegal. Not only is Obliviation restricted and illegal without a license, but he also attacked a student. He should be doing at least fifteen years in Azkaban!"

"Twenty actually." I corrected her. "And he could if I was going to tell anyone on him."

"Why wouldn't you tell anyone?" Daphne whispered heatedly. "He tried to _wipe_ your _mind_!"

"I know." I gazed at her with the 'I'm not an idiot' look. "But he is of no use to me in Azkaban."

"What are you talking about?" Daphne asked curiously.

"Well, it is almost impossible to find information on Obliviation." I told her. "Why would I send him to prison when I can just force him to teach me how to do it myself."

Daphne stared at me for a few minutes before breaking out in giggles. "You're _blackmailing_ him into teaching you how to Obliviate? Harry, you're too much for me sometimes!" she said trying to control her laughing.

"Leave no stoned left unturned." I grinned sagely. "This is an opportunity that is too good to pass up!"

"You're right." Daphne replied, staring at me for a few moments before speaking again. "Which is why I want you to make him teach me too!"

"Hmm..." I teased. I wanted her to learn it anyhow. For one, I trusted Daphne. Secondly, just in case my trust was misplaced, she couldn't say anything if she was learning it as well. "I will, but you are going to owe me one." I smirked.

"Hey!" she protested. "I talked father into teaching you to learn Occlumency, so this would make us even!"

"It would make us even," I smirked. "But you didn't say that I owed you one when you did that. So...you owe me one." I grinned at her.

"Fine!" she glared at me. "See if I help you again! When do we start?"

"Sunday's, eight in the afternoon." I told her. "It should take us around a month to learn, perhaps a week longer with two of us."

"I will meet you at the entrance to the dungeons at seven-thirty then." she told me. "I am not waiting with that poof alone."

"That's fine with me." I laughed. "Come on let's get some actual studying done."

'I think you made a good choice bringing her in on this.' Violet told me once I put my nose back into my book. 'We may need her as an ally in the future, and I think we can trust her.'

'You don't think I made a mistake by trusting her?' I asked.

'No...I don't.' she told me after a second. 'She knew you were learning Occlumency and never told anyone...not even Tracey.'

'Good.' I told her. 'I really didn't want to have to spend any time alone with Lockhart. I trust him about as far as he can throw a pixie...which isn't much.'

* * *

It was just a few minutes before seven-thirty when Daphne finally made her way around the corner to where I was waiting by the dungeon entrance. Curfew wasn't until nine, so we would be fine for our initial trip, the return trip would be a different story depending on how long these lessons each went. I knew Lockhart wouldn't be happy about the extra 'student' but it wasn't as if he actually had a choice.

"You ready to go?" I asked her when she finally stopped in front of me.

"Yeah, lets go." she smiled, happy that she was about to learn a piece of rare magic. "I can't wait for these lessons to be finished so I don't have to spend any more time with the fraud."

"You and me both." I mumbled as we set off towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom on the second floor.

"You think Lockhart will be pissed that you told me, and that your bringing me along?" Daphne chuckled.

"Probably." I smirked. "Although it isn't as if he has any choice on the matter. It is either agree or go to Azkaban."

"What makes you so sure he won't take you down with him for blackmail?" she asked.

"That Unbreakable Vow I made him agree too." I laughed. "I wasn't about to let that idiot out of my sight without one."

"Sometimes I really wonder how it is your a Hufflepuff and not a Slytherin." Daphne asked curiously.

"Maybe one day I will tell you." I smirked.

"What you going to make me take an Unbreakable Vow before you tell me?" she joked, but stopped when she saw me not laughing with her. "You would? It can't really be that necessary can it?"

"Yes, I would, and yes it is." I gave her a soft smile. "Some secrets are too important to leave to chance."

Daphne nodded as if she could understand what I was saying. "So one day, with a Vow, you might tell me?" she asked curiously.

"Perhaps one day." I smiled. "For now, I won't burden you with such a thing."

"Okay, Harry." Daphne said, opening the door to the Defense classroom. "You first...just in case." she grinned.

* * *

I entered the classroom and made my way up the small spiral staircase in the back, knocking on Lockhart's office door.

"Enter." came the wary voice from the other side.

"Good evening professor." I smirked as his face turned wary when he spotted Daphne.

"I was unaware you were going to bring a guest." Lockhart questioned. "Are we still on for our little...study session?"

"Of course, professor." I smiled to him. "Daphne here is going to be learning as well. Don't worry about your secret, however, so long as you have no intentions of harming her, both physically as well as her reputation, then your secret shall remain safe."

"Very...very well, then." Lockhart sighed, knowing he had no leg to stand on.

"So, shall we begin?" I asked.

"Very well." Lockhart said standing up. "I will teach you the same way as my old mentor. This means that your first lesson will cover mostly theory and the basics behind the spell. The practical portion will take roughly another three to four lessons depending on the talent level of the student. Of course, you will have to put in some work in between lessons to practice, but what you do outside of my classroom is best left unsaid to me. I don't want the headache that would undoubtedly come with it."

"Very well." I chuckled. "We are all ears!"

"Very well." Lockhart stated, slipping into teacher mode. "Memory Charms are generally intended to erase a specific memory. They are regularly used if a Muggle witnesses something related to the wizarding world; the Ministry of Magic has Obliviators remove their memories of the event, such as if a Muggle sees a dragon. Occasionally, a mass use of Memory Charms is necessary to cover up major incidents that violate the statue of secrecy, such as the Ilfracombe Incident.

Some Muggles often slip through the cracks in these situations, according to Blemhein Stalk in _Muggles Who Notice_. When particularly intense memories need to be erased, it often leaves the victim disoriented for a short period of time. Of course, as you know, there are other...more frowned upon...ways of utilizing this skill.

If performed improperly, a Memory Charm can erase significant portions of an individual's memory and cause brain damage, with difficulty in recovery. For instance, one of my very first attempts while I was learning Obliviation was on a Muggle man who had once tried to foolishly rob my teacher. He was one of my first practice cases and lets just say, I didn't pay close enough attention to my teacher and botched it. He too was trained in Occlumency and it is said to be easier to learn for those who are.

The Muggle man is still to this day a permanent resident in Muggle mental hospital. However, there are known ways of breaking the charm, albeit they are far from pleasant.

Memory Charms can be broken through torture, and possibly someone who is both a Master Legilimens and Master Obliviator. It was rumored that during the first way that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named sought out numerous people, searching for knowledge. A few tried to outsmart him by Obliviating themselves from it, but he was able to undo the spell by heavy use of the Cruciatus Curse. However, the breaking of the charm by torture usually causes a great toll on someone, and their body and mind is usually damaged beyond repair.

There are cases where them memory remains lost in some cases throughout history. Usually because the people trying to reclaim the knowledge were less keen on using the Cruciatus Curse. This may mean that a certain level of torture is necessary to break the charm, or that the torturer needs to be specific on wanting to break it, rather than just inflicting the pain. It is still mostly uncharted territory as not many live to tell about their experiences."

"It is nice to see you are actually knowledgeable in some areas after all." I chided him, more teasing than anything.

Lockhart half-smiled, half-grimaced. "The last thing we will cover for tonight is the correct wand movements, which are fairly simple, and pronunciation of the spell. Next lesson we will start practicing on a house elf. It is a decent place to start but far easier than a human mind, which we will start two meetings from now."

"Well professor," I began standing up, Daphne doing the same. "We will see you same time and place next week."

I allowed Daphne to exit the room first, before following behind her.

* * *

"It's a half hour past curfew." Daphne reminded me. "How are we going to get back to the dungeons without a detention?"

"Another secret." I grinned, pulling out my Invisibility Cloak. "This one won't cost you a vow."

"Full of surprises aren't we, Potter." Daphne smirked, impressed.

"I've been known to keep an ace up my sleeve." I told her, gesturing her closer to me before throwing the cloak over the pair of us.

"Was this just an elaborate plan for you to get close to me, Potter" Daphne asked with a smirk.

"That answer would take a Vow." I joked, as we started heading for the entrance to the dungeons.

And then I heard something - something quite different from the soft rustling of my cloak coming from around us.

It was a voice, a voice to chill the bone marrow, a voice of breathtaking, ice-cold venom. "Come... come to me... Let me rip you... Let me tear you... Let me kill you..."

Instantly I froze, dragging Daphne to a stop with me.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Daphne asked looking at me.

"Did you not hear that?" I asked her curiously.

"I didn't hear anything." she responded, concern evident in her voice. "What did it sound like?"

"...nothing." I said after a moment. "Probably just the wind. These halls are pretty drafty."

Daphne looked at me for a moment before deciding to let it drop. "If you say so, Harry."

"Hey, I'll see you tomorrow." I told her as we finally reached the entrance to the dungeons.

"Alright, see you, and thanks for taking me along tonight." she smiled.

"No problem." I grinned. "Besides, you still owe me one for it."

"Prat!" Daphne whispered as she swatted my arm before taking a left towards the Slytherin dorms, myself going right.

'What do you really think it was?' asked a concerned Violet. 'Peeves perhaps?'

'No.." I replied after a moment. 'Had he known we were there, I would say it was. But as much as he likes to terrorize students, I find it hard to believe that he would just run around saying stuff like that by himself. I don't know what it was, but I think we should keep our eyes out. It is clear that something is lurking about.'

'If I had eyes, I would keep them out.' Violet joked. 'But I know what you mean, we should be careful just in case. So what did you think of Lockhart's lesson?'

'Not much to go on yet.' I replied a tiny bit frustrated that we hadn't actually learned anything.

'I think he was caught off guard by Daphne being there.' Violet responded.

'That and he probably isn't very fond of having to teach me how to Obliviate someone.' I told her thoughtfully. 'On some level, he has to realize there is nothing keeping me from just erasing his mind once he has finished teaching us. I would be shocked if he wasn't hesitant to actually teach us.'

'You think he may try something in the future when your guard is down?' she asked worriedly.

'I said on some level.' I chuckled. 'I doubt he is smart enough or brave enough to actually go through with anything against me. He knows I have him by his bits and I doubt he will do anything short of making sure I am happy and hoping for the best.'

'Well, time will tell. Perhaps we should go get some rest.' Violet said tiredly. 'You do have classes tomorrow after all.'

* * *

"Good evening Gilderoy." I nodded towards the man as Daphne and I entered his classroom. It was time for our second Obliviation lesson and I was looking forward to getting started on actually learning the spell.

"Welcome you two." Lockhart smiled, less forced than his previous ones.

"Good evening." Daphne mumbled, doing her best to not insult the man. We did at least have to remain cordial until we had gotten what we needed from the man.

"Well, let's get straight to it." Lockhart offered as he gestured to a couple of chairs off to the side of the room. "As I stated last lesson we are going to be starting out on a house elf. While their minds are much less complex than that of a human, they are still a good starting point in case you mess up."

I wasn't one for just randomly hurting an animal or creature, but my need to learn Obliviation outweighed the needs of a house elf. Besides, at worst the poor little bugger would lose his memory, but most house elf's were treated poorly and could do with some memory loss.

"Thankfully not only the purebloods are allowed to become rich or famous." Lockhart smiled. "So we are going to be practicing on my very own house elf. Not to worry, he is getting on in age anyway and will soon need replacing."

Daphne and I shared a look before she spoke. "Well, we are ready when you are."

"Right...Twink!" Lockhart called, and a short, balding creature with a bulbous nose and long pointy ears appeared. His left ear drooped towards the floor and both ears had large amounts of hair growing out of them.

"Master calls for Twink." Came the gravelly voice of the house elf. "How can Twink serve master?"

'They sure give these things some hilarious names, don't they?' Violet snickered.

'No kidding.' I mentally chuckled. 'If I ever get a house elf of my own, I think I'll name it Kid-Killer McGee.'

'Nope, you can't use that name.' Violet stated. 'That is what I am going to name my pet dragon!'

'Dragon teddies don't need names, Vi.' I smirked, causing Violet to huff, giving up on her quest for a dragon…for now at least.

"Yes, we are going to be practicing some spell work tonight. All I need is for you to answer any questions we will ask you during the process." Lockhart told the diminutive elf. "Any questions?"

"Twink be understanding, Master. Twink will answer as best as Twink can." The elf replied.

"Good." Lockhart replied, turning towards Daphne and I. "Now to learn to Obliviate someone properly, you need to understand how it works, what you need to do, and how you need to do it. As I foolishly found out last week, Harry you are sufficient in Occlumency. This is good as you should know how Legilimency acts and feels. While Obliviation is quite similar to Legilimency, it is also just as different.

Just pretend that your conscious mind is like the surface of a lake. Floating on top of this lake are all your of your day to day thoughts and memories. A Legilimency attack is like shooting a jet of water at the lake, while Obliviation is like spraying a cloud of mist or fog at it. Both are capable of interacting with the surface thoughts and memories.

Now someone skilled in the arts of Occlumency is able to clear their mind, or hiding all of their thoughts and memories underneath the surface of the water. Where a Legilimency probe, or our proverbial jet of water, will penetrate the surface of the water if fired hard enough at the surface, continuing its search through your mind. An Obliviation attack however, cannot penetrate below the surface of the lake and is left with nothing to search through.

Now, while Legilimency can search for information from within someone's mind, Obliviation works differently. The caster must have some knowledge of what they are trying to erase, be it a descriptive image of a person that they want the caster to forget, or merely the name of said person. Where it can get tricky is that with less information on what you are trying to erase, the more broad the effects. So if I were trying to erase the image of Harry from your mind Daphne, so long as I pictured him perfectly in every detail you would no longer remember him. However, say I only knew his first name and I tried to erase him, you would still forget, but you would also lose the memory of any and all Harry's that you have ever known.

For instance, during my early days of training, I was trying to erase the knowledge that I had met someone at their house, I didn't stay quite focused enough and erased every memory the poor bloke had of his house. He no longer even recognized his home. It is imperative that you give precise details of what you are trying to erase."

I was a bit annoyed that Lockhart didn't tell us all of this during the last meeting, but I could tell that my earlier suspicions had been correct and he was still hesitant to actually teach us, and wanted to stall as long as possible…well I wasn't going to let him stall much longer. "I believe we are quite ready for the practical side of things, Gilderoy. I trust we have a great enough understanding on the theoretical side of things. Shall we get started on the practical?"

"Yes, yes of course." Lockhart stumbled out. "I just want to make sure you a decent grasp so you don't make the same mistakes I did is all."

"I am sure that we take our studies much more serious than you." Daphne drawled. "I assure you we have a decent grasp."

"Very well then." Lockhart said, scowling slightly at the dig. "Might as well start. Ladies first? Miss Greengrass, I want you to erase Twink's knowledge of what I had for breakfast this morning…go ahead and give it a shot. Remember to visual exactly what it is you are trying to erase."

Daphne pointed her wand at the old elf as a look of concentration adorned her face. Finally after a few seconds she spoke. "Obliviate!"

I could see her eyes crinkle slightly in concentration for a few seconds before she dropped the spell.

"For now, keep what you experience to yourself." Lockhart said. "I want Mr. Potter to experience what it is like with an unbiased view. Now…let us see how you have done. Twink, can you tell me what it is I had for breakfast?"

The old elf's face scrunched up in concentration before it answered. "Master, Twink is sorry but he can't remember. Twink doesn't remember master ever having breakfast served to him by Twink! Twink has failed to serve master properly!"

"Now, now…no punishing yourself Twink." Lockhart smiled at the old elf. "You have done nothing wrong I assure you. As to what went wrong Miss Greengrass, I am assuming you merely pictured him forgetting breakfast, but not a specific one…hence it took them all. Still, you only removed his memory of breakfast and it is a very adequate first attempt.

Now, Mr. Potter, I would like for you to erase Twink's memory of this meeting. Let's see how you do shall we?"

I pulled my wand and pointed it at the head of the old elf before casting the spell. "Obliviate!"

Instantly the memories that I had been concentrating on, the memories of this meeting since the elf appeared, started to flash in front of my mind. I started erasing everything I saw in those memories, from the room itself, to the people and creatures within it. The memory passed before I could finish however and I ended the spell."

The first thing I noticed was the old elf looking around the room questionably. "I don't think I was able to erase everything." I told Lockhart. "The memory passed on before I could remove everything from his mind."

"Which is what I had expected would happen." Lockhart smiled. "Now you see how complex it is. You not only have to concentrate on what exactly you are looking for, but keep that concentration up as you are removing them. In all likelihood, you stopped concentrating on what exactly you were trying to erase as you were erasing it and the memory slipped away. Of course, you can always go back through a second time and do it again if you mess up. This time however, you can concentrate on the pieces left behind or the original memory, making the cleanup attempt slightly easier. Go ahead and see if you can get it the second time around."

Pointing my wand at the elf once more, I repeated the spell. "Obliviate!"

Once more concentrating on the memory of our meeting with the elf, the memories returned. Only this time they were fragmented and large chunks of them were missing. Making sure I didn't stop concentrating on what I was searching for, I started to also delete what was left over at the same time. It only took a couple of seconds before the memory's stopped coming again, only this time it was from successfully deleting them and not losing them due to a slip of concentration.

"Twink, what is the last thing you remember before coming here and do you recognize this room or anyone in it?" Lockhart asked the confused elf.

"Twink was washing master's robes and then Twink was here. Twink not be recognizing masters guests, but Twink knows master and master's office." The elf answered.

"Perfect!" Lockhart beamed. "It seems you were successful, Mr. Potter. Of course, Twink has been in my room before so he would remember it, but he will have no memory of this particular occurrence beyond the last few moments."

Lockhart dismissed the elf back to his chores before standing. "Well, I think this will be a good place to end our lesson. I would recommend you not yet practice on your fellow classmates, but…what you do in your own time is, once again, something I would rather not know. I will see you two in class Friday."

"Until Friday." I offered as Daphne and I started towards the door, making our exit from Lockhart's office.

* * *

"So Harry, where have you and Daphne been disappearing too on Sunday nights?" Tracey asked as we sat down for breakfast on the Monday after our third meeting with Lockhart. "Daphne won't say...are you two sneaking away...for _alone time_?" she giggled.

We had only one lesson to go with Lockhart, and the last one had progressed nicely. We were able to Obliviate more complex memories instead of just something simple as one moment in their life. The poor elf, Twink, now no longer remembers ever seeing the color green or what dishes are, but Lockhart was planning him not living much longer anyhow. He was getting rather on in age. Our last session we were planning on moving on and finishing on a human target. I was still curious on how he was going to make that happen...perhaps he would volunteer if we were lucky!

"Why Trace, you jealous?" I grinned at her.

"You know it!" Tracey scoffed. "I've been trying to get Daphne off for some alone time for years."

Daphne snorted her pumpkin juice causing Tracey to laugh at her. "Tracey!"

"Come on Wayne we should probably get back to the Hufflepuff table." I spoke up as I noticed Snape enter the great hall. I'd rather him not see me sitting at the Slytherin table. Thankfully it was still rather early and there weren't many Slytherin students in the hall yet.

"So why were you two missing on Sunday's?" Wayne asked as we made it back to the puff table.

"Detention." I lied. "Apparently Lockhart wasn't happy about the answers we gave on that little quiz and gave us detention on Sunday nights for a month."

"Wow that sucks!" Wayne exclaimed. "What could you possibly have said to get that many detentions?"

"I called him a poof that had no sense of fashion." I laughed, actually telling the truth. I believe I stated such on several occasions during his 'quiz'.

"You going to come to any of the Quidditch games this year?" Wayne asked. "I am thinking about trying out for beater. Cedric made captain this year."

"I might come to a game if you make the team." I told him. "Cedric seems like an okay guy. I am sure you will at least get a fair shot at making the team. Are you any good?"

"I'm not sure." Wayne responded. "I played Cricket before coming to Hogwarts, so I know how to handle a bat. I'm just hoping that my flying skills won't hold me back too much."

"Well, I am sure you will be fine." I told him. "I'm sure that if you asked, Cedric would give you some help with the flying."

"Yeah, I might go ask him." Wayne told me as he moved off towards the end of the table to find him.

'So what is on the game plan once you finish up with Lockhart?' Violet asked once I was alone.

'I'm going to start looking at the Mirror of Erised and see if I can't figure out how to get the Stone out of it.' I told her, my mind going back towards our task. 'Knowing Dumbledore, it isn't going to be easy. If he has tied his enchantments into the existing ones for the mirror, I may not be able to. I have no idea what the original enchantments on the mirror were and if they are interwoven, I'm going to have a very hard time figuring out where the enchantments for the mirror end and the ones Dumbledore begin.'

'I'm sure he made some sort of key or code to getting the Stone out without having to deconstruct his enchantments?' Violet asked.

'True, but we both know that Dumbledore's mind works in weird ways.' I chuckled. 'For all I know you have to offer the Mirror a tribute of ten lemon drops before it will give it up.'

'He definitely is frustratingly clever when he needs to be.' she responded.

'Yeah, well if only the same could be said for the rest of them.' I told her disappointed. 'If Longbottom could make his way all the way to the Mirror, then they obviously didn't do a very good job securing it.'

'You don't think that maybe that was Dumbledore's point do you?' she asked.

'Perhaps he set it up to as a test, but I doubt it.' I told her. 'More than likely there was only so much they could legally set up inside of a school. I doubt we were the only ones to venture down the third floor.'

'Well, surely putting a Cerberus inside of a school is against the rules.' Violet laughed.

'You would think.' I acquiesced, however, it was easy to spot from the door and it isn't like it could fit through the doorway to attack anybody. Only an idiot would just run inside of a locked room without first knowing what was in it.'

'True, but there are certainly enough idiots around this place.' Violet chuckled.

'Yeah, you got that right.' I agreed as I noticed Weasley digging into his massive plate of food with reckless abandon. 'Might as well head for class. I may lose my breakfast if I have to watch Weasley eat his.'

* * *

**AN: So the Poll on which minor character you guys would like to see killed off this year is still open for a few more chapters at least. Here are the results I have received so far...**

**Gilderoy Lockhart – 5**

**Colin Creevey – 3**

**Zacharias Smith – 2**

**Percy Weasley – 2**

**Cedric Diggory – 2**

**Madam Pince – 1**

**Penelope Clearwater – 1**

**Marcus Flint – 1**

**Vincent Crabbe – 1**

**Gregory Goyle – 1**

**Pansy Parkinson – 1**

**Theodore Nott – 1**

**To be honest, I was surprised that nobody had thought of killing off Filch, but I do kind of like his character. Voting is still open and it will be a few more chapters at least until I kill the winner off, so keep the votes coming in. Remember just leave your character in a review, one name per review however. Thank you for reading and until next time, don't forget to Comment, Rate, and Review and all that jazz. **


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Sorry that this chapter is getting out a day later than I had planned. I was all set to have it finished and posted tomorrow, but I had a huge headache pretty much all day and didn't get much done at all. The story starts to gain a little bit of speed with this one and the drama starts to pick up. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Some words in this chapter may be copies or alterations of words used and owned by Jagex. They are not mine and I make no claims that they are.**

* * *

'Well, that's...confusing.' Violet stated once I had stopped my inspection of the Mirror of Erised.

'Tell me about it.' I said with a sigh. 'The Runic language I can make out just fine. I can decipher the Egyptian Seal of the Heart, I can understand the Norse rune for sight, I can see the Latin run for desire...along with about another two dozen runes that I can also identify. What I can't understand is how the hell all of these runes fit together.'

'What do you mean?' Violet asked curious as to what could have stumped me so badly.

'Here...Seren's Rune. And here...the Rune of Dharok. Then over here...Zaros' Command...I get that far, yet I can't understand the runes that are outlining all three of these. My best guess is that they took those three Runes as a mere base and then created their own custom Rune Schematic.'

'Unfortunately I'm not going to be much help.' Violet said frustrated. 'I share your mind, so I only know what you already know.'

'This could take years to decipher without the codex.' I sighed. 'We are talking some advanced Arithmancy as I would essentially have to start from scratch to create the runes to duplicate the effects of these unknown runes...but I don't know what they do so it means a ton of hours of trial and error.'

'I'm sorry, Harry.' Violet said quietly.

'Sorry? What for?' I asked curious as to why she would be feeling sorry.

'That you have to go through all of this just for me.'

'Vi, I don't have to go through all of this...I choose too. As much as this is for you, it is for me as well. You want a body and I want you to have one just as much and you don't ever need to feel sorry for that, or think that this is a bother to me.' I told her gently. 'I'm not frustrated that this is going to take more hours of work than I can keep track. I am frustrated because I want this for you so bad and I keep meeting one road block after another.'

'Haaaaarry!' Violet whined. 'Why can't you just let me have my pity party? I'm not actually contributing anything to all of this work so I'm not allowed to be frustrated or I will just feel like a prat...If I do that then I can't make fun of you for being one anymore.'

'You are something else.' I chuckled.

'I blame you.' She replied defiantly. 'I'm stuck inside of your head all day so I pick up all of my annoying traits from you!'

'At least you will never be as annoying as Lockhart.' I grumbled. Thankfully Daphne and I no longer were taking lessons from him, and we had both progressed nicely with our Obliviation lessons. Lockhart had actually had the balls to have us practicing on a fifth year who had challenged him in much the same way I had. Of course, the fifth year had been pretty quick on the draw and was actually fighting Lockhart off fairly well...at least until I stunned him in the back. Needless to say that was one of the memories we made sure to practice against. Of course, Lockhart had us 'practicing' by taking away the boys memory of his knowledge and thoughts of Lockhart being a fraud.

'I bet you're glad to finally be done with him.' Violet laughed.

'Not as bad as Daphne.' I smiled. 'I think if she had to have one more lesson with him, she might have tried to kill him.'

'She is very passionate.' Violet replied. 'But nothing will top the passion she has for hating that man.'

'I can't say I blame her.' I told her seriously. 'If it wasn't for the fact I was almost positive he was a poof...I would fear the things he has the abilities of getting away with when it comes to the female population. Of course, I might still have to worry about Wayne.' I laughed.

'Harry! That's so gross!' Violet cackled.

'Yeah...but probably true.' I laughed.

'So what do we do now, Harry?' Violet asked, her tone returning to seriousness.

'That is a good question.' I sighed. 'We are kind of at a crossroads here. We can either keep going with trying to retrieve the Stone, or we can move on for now and keep looking elsewhere.'

'Which one do you think we should do?'

'I'm not sure to be honest. Why don't you choose for me?' I asked. 'I honestly never considered it would be this damn hard back when McGonagall told us about magic all those months ago in the Dursley's living room, and now I'm slightly floundering here.' I told her truthfully. I didn't want to make a choice and it turn out to be the wrong one and let Violet down.

'Oh sure, make me choose.' Violet pouted before thinking her answer over. 'I say we should keep looking elsewhere for now. If nothing else you will be able to come back to the mirror once you have learned more, Arithmancy in particular...unless you can find any information on the mirror. If we actually knew which enchantments belonged to it, and which were added to protect the stone, it would be much easier.'

'Moving on it is then.' I sighed, disappointed in myself for not being able to figure this out.

'So...where exactly is next from here?' Violet asked after a minute.

'Uhhh...good question.' I said thoughtfully. 'I would be willing to bet that Dumbledore has a copy of what Runes he used on the mirror in his office...maybe we could 'borrow' it and it would make figuring out the mirror a hundred times easier.'

'We never see the old man except for at meals, Harry.' Violet mentioned. 'How exactly are we going to even know when he is gone? On top of that he probably has the place warded against intruders.'

'True, but for every ward, charm, and spell, there is a counter to it. We will just have to figure out what he has in place and figure out the charms to it...as far as when he is going to be out of his office...I think I have a plan.'

'Oooooh...that will be nice to have regardless if it works for breaking into Dumbledore's office.' Violet cheered as she read the idea out of my head. 'When are you going to do it?'

'I will send an owl to them to set up a meeting tomorrow.' I told her, hashing out my plan in my head. 'I think I might recruit Daphne on this one though.'

'Why, think you will need back-up?' Violet asked.

'Well, there are two of them and they are a couple years ahead of us. It would be foolish to make a move and have it backfire on me.' I told her. 'Daphne can be my surprise weapon.'

'You will have to be careful.' Violet warned. 'You either have to keep her in the open or be very crafty in how you are going to hide her from them. They are hard to sneak up on, you know?'

'I will think it over and let Daphne know of the plan tonight.' I told her with a smile. 'Tomorrow we add another weapon to our arsenal!'

* * *

"So you remember the plan?" I asked Daphne as we were on our way to the Owlery before breakfast. We had sent Tracey and Wayne along ahead of us so we could talk without being overheard.

"Of course it do." Daphne scowled. "You've only made me memorize it a dozen times."

"Hey, no need to bite off my head you know." I grinned at her.

"Well, you may be all happy and excited about this plan." Daphne glared at me. "But I find it hard to be excited when you won't even tell me what it is we are after."

"I don't want to spoil the surprise!" I whined. "Besides...you should be thankful that I am nice enough to share it with you. It is a one of a kind work of art!"

"You make it sound like we are stealing a bloody painting!" Daphne complained. "Fine, fine, fine... You will leave the Great Hall after you know they have received your letter. When they leave to follow you, I wait ten minutes before coming under your Invisibility Cloak to the room with the window that you showed me last night. Once there, I quietly fire two stunners through the crack you're going to leave in the window and we take your bloody painting from them."

"It's not a painting, Daph." I laughed. "You will love it, I'm sure. I just don't want to ruin the surprise for you. Besides…I doubt you would believe me if I told you. It really is quite remarkable to be honest."

"Okay, just write your bloody letter and let's go." Daphne complained. "I'm hungry and breakfast started ten minutes ago!"

"Okay, okay…keep your knickers on." I chided at her impatience before taking out a piece of parchment and a quill.

_Twins,_

_ I was most pleased with your services the first time we met last year. You are right, it was quite the sinuous path to fly on broom. I want to offer you two a chance to make some gold for information, and you hold the answer I seek written on your favorite spare bit of parchment. _

_If you are interested in a bit of gold, meet me a half an hour before breakfast ends. You know how to find me! Make sure you come alone and tell nobody of this letter._

_HP_

I quickly folded up letter and handed it to one of the school owls.

"Deliver this to the Weasley twins during breakfast. Make sure nobody else takes it." I told the owl, which hooted in acceptance.

"Well that was fun." Daphne drawled. "Not sure why I couldn't just go to breakfast instead of walking all the way up here."

"And here I thought you were my friend." I teased. "Tired of hanging around with me already, Daph?"

"Stuff it, Potter." She grumbled. "I'm headed down for breakfast. I'll see you before breakfast ends."

"Have Wayne save me some food, will you?" I called to her retreating back as she split one way to head to the Great Hall and I headed for the abandoned room I had scouted out with Daphne last night.

I had been waiting in the room for almost a half hour before I could start to hear the footfalls coming down the hall. I knew that it was roughly an eight minute walk from the Great Hall to where I was at, which was why I had told Daphne to wait ten minutes before following them. They would undoubtedly be using the map to locate me and I didn't want them to spot Daphne following them.

"It is open." I called when the twins knocked on the door.

"Ahh, Harrikins!" one of the twins said as they both entered the room. I had still yet to learn the difference between them. I think I may just call them both Fred…at least then I would be right half of the time. "Our favorite little Puff."

"Not quite as little this time around though." The other Fred said. "Little things grow up so fast!"

"Fred…other Fred." I greeted them with my own silent chuckle. "I'm glad you both showed up."

"We never turn down the opportunity to make some gold." Fred 1 said.

"Yeah, so what is it that you need with the map our dearest Harrikins?" Fred 2 asked.

I knew I had to stall for a few minutes before Daphne could get here. I couldn't let them open the map and have them spot her coming.

"I am curious is the map shows the locations of the dorms?" I asked the two. "The Slytherin dorms in particular."

"Is Ickle Harrikins planning a prank on the snakes or is he trying to have a secret meeting with the little snakelette he has been hanging around?" Fred 1…or was it 2, asked.

"Ha..ha.." I drawled. "The first one would be closer to the truth. Snakelette…as you call her, has shown me where the dorms are. I just need to know if they are empty, which is why I called you here while they are all still at breakfast. But first, I was hoping you could give me some tips on pranking them. As I understand it, you lions love any chance to prank them and you two are supposed to be the best."

"Today is one of the proudest moments of my life." One of the Fred's said, swiping a fake tear from his eye. "Another budding prankster seeking a wing to be taken under!"

"Indeed." The other twin fake sniffled. "It is our duty to help him George."

"Fred." I corrected him, still stalling for time. I knew I had another couple minutes before Daphne showed up and I couldn't let them open that map yet.

"No…I'm pretty sure that I'm Fred and he's George." Fred 2 corrected me.

"You may be able to tell yourselves apart, but that is a skill I will never master." I told the two. "So you are Fred 1 and Fred 2…unless you want to be George 1 and George 2?"

"Hmm…sounds fair." One of the Fred's said. "But I am Fred 1. He can be Fred 2."

"Hey, now wait a minute!" Fred 2 complained. "Why do you get to be Fred 1? I'm the better looking Fred after all."

"Maybe…maybe we can get shirts that say Fred 1 on the front of one and Fred 2 on the front of the other." Fred 1 suggested. "And on the back they can say Fred 2 and Fred 1…then we could both be Fred 1 and Fred 2."

"That just may work, dear brother." Fred 1, now Fred 1 and 2 said. This was really getting confusing fast. Perhaps I will start calling them Fred 12 and Fred 21? I just hoped that Daphne showed up soon before I lost track of even my own name. "It would give Snape a bloody hell of a time trying to give us detention that way!"

"True." Fred 21 agreed. "Of course, it would make figuring out whose mail belonged to whom a bloody nightmare."

"Ahh…too true dear brother." Fred 12 agreed pulling their map out of his robe pocket. "Perhaps we shall have to iron this out later old chap. We do have some business to attend to."

"Right you are!" Fred 21 responded. "Gold is at hand and it must be made!"

"So, Harrikins, let's find out if the Slytherin common room is currently empty or…" was as far as he got before a red light struck him in the back, followed by a second one that stunned his brother as well.

* * *

"Thank Merlin!" I sighed as Daphne entered the room before locking and silencing it afterwards. "If I had to listen to those two go back and forth for another few minutes I might have had to kill myself."

"That bad, huh?" Daphne laughed.

"You have no idea!"

"So what exactly is it that you wanted to show me?" she asked. "I had better be impressed Potter, or you might join these two on the floor!"

"This, dearest Daphne," I told her, folding out the map onto the table. "is a map of Hogwarts. It shows every room, every secret passage, and the location of every single person inside of it."

"It's just a blank piece of parchment…" Daphne drawled. "You must have been around those two for too long…it has clearly addled your mind…"

"Cute..." I said in a monotone voice. "It will be a map, I just need to get the password from those two."

"Legilimency or torture?" Daphne asked curiously.

While Cyrus had never exactly taught us much on Legilimency, it was one of the side effects of being taught Occlumency. We see the effects so much that the only real thing keeping someone who knows Occlumency from learning Legilimency is just actually doing it and practicing.

We have both seen thousands of probes…analyzed and destroyed them. We knew how it felt to have them dig through our thoughts and memories. While we were still novice enough that we wouldn't be able to read even the weakest of Occlumens yet without practice, two fourth years who were unconscious and had no training in Occlumency at all shouldn't be too hard.

"Legilimens!" I both replied to Daphne and cast on one of the twins at the same time.

A master of Legilimency could read someone's current thoughts so long as they had eye contact, but one couldn't just go searching through someone's mind for a specific memory. The mind wasn't just some picture book with an index that you had to look up the specific page to something.

That didn't mean that a Legilimens didn't have some control over it. It was true that memories would flash randomly through their mind but when you spotted a memory of interest you could give it a kind of 'tug' and more memories related to that particular memory would follow. So once I saw the first memory that involved the Marauder's Map, as this particular memory indicated, I could give it a mental tug and more memories that involved the map would start to flow behind it.

Finally a few minutes I finally saw the memory I was looking for. The one that had the activation and deactivation phrase to the map.

"_I solemnly swear I am up to no good!" _I said, pointing my wand at the map laying on the desk.

Instantly words began to sprawl themselves across the map like veins, forming pictures as they went. It only took a few seconds before the entire map was covered in an exact map of the castle. It appeared as if the map automatically 'opened' focusing on its location because in the center of it was the room we were currently standing in with two little dots labeled, Harry Potter and Daphne Greengrass, next to them.

"Sweet Merlin!" Daphne said in awe. "The entire castle is open to our fingertips with this!"

"Exactly!" I smirked, big plans for the map already flowing through my head. Getting into Dumbledore's office the chief among them. "First, we will have to cover our tracks."

"Tracks?" she asked.

"These two," I said pointing to the twins. "Aren't just going to take it lightly that we stole something this valuable from them. So…we are going to make them forget its very existence!"

Daphne paused for a moment as if all of the missing pieces were just now falling into place for her. "You planned all of this from the start?" she guessed.

"Learning Obliviation will have other uses in the future." I answered. "But this one is as good as any for now."

"Sometimes you are scary brilliant." She said in an almost hushed awe before turning back serious. "Don't let that go to your head though Potter!"

"I will try to remember that." I chuckled. "For now do you think you can wipe the map from Fred 12, while I get Fred 21?"

"Twelve…Twenty-one?" Daphne asked confused.

"It's a long story." I sighed. "I will tell you later."

Pointing my wand at one of the twins I cast the spell. I concentrated on the Marauder's Map and watch as one by one, every memory the two had that pertained to it were deleted. It appeared the two had gotten great use out of it, as it had taken me almost a minute before I had erased them all. The two would be a bit woozy and have a small headache for most of the day, but they would both be fine by tomorrow…except for the fact they would be missing one of their prized possessions and not even know about it.

"Finished." Daphne said a few seconds after I had finished myself. "I don't suppose that has a way to turn it off does it? We have classes in like fifteen minutes and I'm sure you would rather keep this a secret."

"Yeah, hold on." I told her as I turned back to the map. "_Mischief Managed!"_ I folded the map up and put it in my inner-robe pocket once it had become blank again.

"I'll see you later, Harry." Daphne said as she headed for the door. "You better not use that map to watch me while I'm in the bathroom either!" she teased.

"I make no promises." I grinned playfully. "But thanks for the idea!" I called as she left with a playful glare.

'Well, that went about as well as we could have hoped!' Violet said happily once we were alone.

'Outside of losing some of my sanity from listening to those too, I'd agree.' I smiled.

'Now all we have to do is keep an eye out for Dumbledore leaving the school and then we can make our move!' Violet beamed. I could tell she was in high spirits at the fact we finally had another clear cut path to follow.

'True, for now though we need to wake these two up and head to class.' I told her.

'They won't see you once you wake them will they?' Violet asked.

'Doubtful.' I replied. 'They had a ton of memories regarding that map, so they will likely be a bit dazed for the first few minutes after they wake.'

'Won't they be suspicious if they suddenly wake up woozy in an abandoned room?' she asked.

'Nope!' I smirked conjuring a few empty mead bottles on the floor beside them. 'I erased all of their memories from the time they awoke this morning until now. They will likely just assume they spent most of last night drinking and passed out drunk.'

'Daphne was right.' Violet smirked. 'Sometimes you are scary brilliant!'

'Well, I should be.' I told her with a smirk. 'I learned it all from this really amazing girl I know.'

'I'd blush if I could.' Violet laughed with a fake swoon. 'Now, come on Romeo…we have classes!'

'Of course, Lady Capulet!' I teased before grabbing my bag, casting a quick enervate on the twins, and heading out from the room.

* * *

The next couple of weeks had been pretty amazing. The Marauder's Map had made learning the school easier than I could have ever dreamed. I would sneak multiple trips to the Restricted Section of the library each week and never even have to worry about being caught. I was able to map out a few locations of the castle that apparently never saw many people wandering through them.

Tonight the entire school was down in the Great Hall celebrating another defeat of Voldemort. I hadn't really felt like celebrating. While I was more grateful for Violet than I could ever imagine, I still had lost my parents and it was the start of my ten years of hell with the Dursely's...so no. I was going to be doing another ritual tonight.

This ritual wasn't as dangerous as some of the ones I would be trying in the future. My body was already performing at a really high level, not that it made me anything like Captain America from the comic books I had once pilfered from Dudley's room, but it would take Magical Enhancements to really improve my body any further. That is why I was currently back in my out of the way room while everyone else was stuffing their faces.

'I know I don't need to tell you, but be careful.' Violet said. She was naturally worried and a bit apprehensive when it involved anything that could be dangerous to me.

'Don't worry, Vi.' I gave her a half smile as I was still concentrating on preparing our ritual. We had already gotten our supplies from Snape's classroom stores. Unfortunately, there were only another ritual or two I could do with just the supplies that were located there, neither one of them too advanced. 'I've written this same array in my mind a dozen times in the last hour alone. I'm positive I will get it right.'

'I know.' Violet sighed. 'But I'm still allowed to worry!'

'I know.' I chuckled. 'It's okay, I understand.'

I started to trace the Transference Runes that the ingredients would be sacrificed in to power the ritual. Ahrim's Rune for the Valerian, Zarosian Cluster for the Spleenwart, the Rune Strip of Shantay for the Lionfish spine, the Runes of Priffindas for the Lobalug venom, the Cluster of Sophanem for the Nightshade, and Nardah's Array for the Dragonfly thorax. Thankfully, this ritual only had the five ingredients as the Rune layout for them was rather complex, and I didn't have all night to be carving them.

My Ignition Rune complete I stepped slowly into the circle after disrobing completely. While the last ritual I did was only an enhancement of my natural body, this ritual magically altered it. That meant that I had to bring nothing other than my wand inside with me. Something as simple as a piece of lint could fall from my robes into one of the Transference Runes and it could have drastically changing effects to the entire ritual. This was why I had moved out of the dirty dungeons in lieu of a much cleaner room down the vacant third floor corridor. It was also why the entire room had been thoroughly Scorgified beforehand.

I placed the tip of my wand on the Ignition Rune and started to pump magic into it. The ritual circle started to light up, working its way from the inside out, the magic working its way through the lines I had previously carved as they made their way to the Transference Runes.

As the Transference Runes started to absorb their offerings and direct their magic towards the inner circle, and ultimately me, I could feel the effects of the ritual start to take hold. My skins started to tingle as the magic flowing through it made it glow with a soft, yet eerie, light. I could feel the magic flowing through it as well as feel it growing stronger.

While I would never be able to stop a bullet with it, the ritual was supposed to increase its tinsel strength by almost five. While it could still be easily penetrated with certain spells, my skin would barely scratch if I were to say, fall and scrape my knee. A cutting curse that would usually leave a 6 inch gash would probably only leave a two inch cut.

Finally with a bright flash and semi-strong discharge of magic, the ritual circle fell dark and silent and I fell to my knees panting from the change to my body. My skin still had a tingling feeling all over, but thankfully it was slowly retreating.

'How do you feel?' Violet asked.

'Weird...' I replied. 'You never really think about it, but your skin has a certain feel to it that is only noticeable once it changes. It's not an uncomfortable or bad feeling..just one that will take some getting used too.'

'You think you will be okay to move?' she asked. 'The feast will be over soon and you don't want people to be asking questions. Best to be in the dorms by the time they are so you can just say you were there the entire time.

'Probably right.' I agreed. 'Come on, let's get going.'

* * *

Unfortunately, me hoping for an easy trip back to the dorms was for naught. No sooner had I made it around the first corner did I heard it for the second time.

"...rip...tear...kill..."

It was the same voice, the same cold, murderous voice I had heard leaving Lockhart's office the month before.

I stumbled to a halt, clutching at the stone wall, listening with all my might, while looking around, squinting up and down the dimly lit hallway.

'You can hear it too right?' I asked Violet as the voice started to move.

'Yes.' Violet said nervously. 'Do you think we should follow it or run?'

"...so hungry...for so long..."

'It sounds as if it hasn't eaten in a long time?' I questioned, making up my mind to see if I couldn't find it. I would just have to curse my stupid curiosity later. 'Let's go.'

"...kill...time to kill..."

The voice was growing fainter. I was sure it was moving away, moving downwards. A mixture of fear and excitement gripped me as I stared at the dusty floor; how could it be moving downwards? Was it a phantom or ghost to whom stone floors didn't matter? It at least appeased my fears slightly, knowing that a ghost couldn't actually hurt me, so I set off at a trot towards the stairs to follow it downwards.

'This way!' I said excitedly to Violet as I began to run, down the stairs two floors to the first floor, hoping to catch up to it.

I strained my ears. Distantly, from the floor above this time, I heard the voice again. "...I smell blood...I SMELL BLOOD!"

'You don't think it is going to kill someone do you?' Violet asked worriedly.

'I don't know, but if it is capable of killing, perhaps we should just stay away?' I asked her.

'True...' she said nervously. 'But Harry, everyone is supposed to be in the great hall. It is very possible that if anyone has left early it is too look for you.'

'What, a professor?' I asked. 'Then they should be able to handle themselves better than most.'

'True,' she acquiesced. 'if it is a professor...but what if it isn't? What if Daphne, Wayne, or Tracey grew worried and came to look for us?'

'Bugger...' I mumbled, knowing that if there was a chance it was them about to be attacked I would have to at least investigate it. 'I can't believe I left the damn map in the room!' I said hotly. 'I didn't think I would need it with everyone at the feast.'

'We will have to worry about that later, Harry. We should get a move on!'

I took off back towards the staircase and went back up one floor to the second floor.

Just as we were passing the girls bathroom, trying to once again locate the voice, Violet gasped.

'Harry, is that...'

'Mrs. Norris.' I whispered as I edged nearer, almost slipping on a large puddle of water that was flowing out from the bathroom beside me that I had missed before. Something was shining on the wall ahead. Approaching, my eyes seeing decently through the semi-darkness, I spotted foot-high words that had been daubed on the wall between two windows, shimmering in the light cast by the flaming torches.

_The Chamber of Secrets has been opened._

_Enemies of the heir, beware!_

Hanging above it, by her tail from the torch bracket, was Filch's cat. She was stiff as a board, her eyes wide and staring. For a few seconds, I didn't move.

'We should get out of here.' I finally said, coming to my senses. 'It wouldn't be good at all to be caught here.

No sooner had the thoughts left my brain did I hear a gasp from behind me.

"You may have talked your way out last year, Potter, but we caught you in the act this time!" I slowly turned my head to the side to see Longbottom and his two followers standing beside him. Longbottom and Weasley had looks of triumph on their faces, while Granger was staring nervously between me and Mrs. Norris.

'Ahh, shit...' I moaned. 'Should have left sooner!'

* * *

**AN: So there was chapter 11, I hope you all have enjoyed it. I would like to make an update of the current poll and remind you that voting is still open. The results currently stand thus... **

**Gilderoy Lockhart – 17**

**Colin Creevy – 7**

**Percy Weasley – 5**

**Vincent Crabbe – 3**

**Gregory Goyle – 3**

**Zacharias Smith – 3**

**Cedric Diggory – 2**

**Marcus Flint – 2**

**Madam Pince – 1**

**Penelope Clearwater – 1**

**Pansy Parkinson – 1**

**Theodore Nott – 1**

**The voting will probably only be open for a few more chapters, so make sure you name off your choice in a review and I will take note of it. As always thanks for reading and don't forget to comment, PM, or review your thoughts, questions, or concerns!**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Sorry this one was a tad late. I had wanted to have it out yesterday, but I ended up being called into work on emergency and haven't had the time to finish it until a few hours ago. I tried to edit this one myself, but it has been a rather tiresome last few days, so please forgive me if I did overlook anything. Well, here it is, and I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Ahh, Longbottom and friends." I replied jovially. "Imagine finding you here."

"Save it, Potter!" Longbottom snarled. "Killing cats now are you?"

"Wrong again, Longbottom." I smiled. "I just stumbled upon her a minute before yourself."

"So you just expect us to believe your in the wrong place at the wrong time?" Weasley asked incredulously. "What are you even doing up here? Your common room is down in the dungeons with the rest of the snakes!"

"I could ask you the same thing." I replied to him. "The great hall is a few floors below as well, and I don't see the rest of the school winding their ways through the halls. So why are you three out before the rest of them?"

"We noticed you weren't there at dinner, and came to see if we could find out what you were up too." Longbottom scowled. "It's a good thing too, I'm sure Filch will love to hear what you've done to his cat!"

"Your incessant snooping has grown rather tiresome." I said seriously while drawing my wand. "Even if I were running around doing something...nefarious...do you honestly think you three would be smart enough to catch me at it?"

"So that's it, Potter?" Weasley snarled. "You just going to kill us next?"

I snorted. "Even if I was, I'm not the type to brag. No, I am merely going to make sure that you three leave me alone once and for all."

I raised my wand towards the trio, ready to strip their memories of this meeting from their minds. "Obl..."

"What have we here!" a happy voice called.

I looked up to notice a very pleased Malfoy along with a few dozen other students rounding the corner. Excitement was shining in his pale-gray eyes as he watched the trio pointing their wands at me, who were doing the same. Then he spotted the message on the wall behind me, along with the cat hanging from the torch bracket.

"Enemies of the Heir beware?" she smiled before turning towards Granger. "You'll be next Mudblood!"

"Shut it Malfoy!" Weasley yelled as the three foolishly turned their backs to me and faced Malfoy.

"What's going on here? What's going on?" Attracted no doubt by Malfoy's shout, Argus Filch came shouldering his way through the crowd, further distracting the trio's attention away from me.

As quietly as I could, I quickly whispered out a trio of Obliviates towards the three, careful to only take out their memory of meeting me here first, and not the rest of their encounter. Taking away too much might rouse suspicion if they suddenly became confused.

"I was leaving from Lockhart's office and stumbled upon these three." I answered him before the trio could regain their bearings.

Filch missed their slight looks of confusion as he had finally noticed Mrs. Norris and fell back, clutching his face in horror.

"My cat! My cat! What's happened to Mrs. Norris? He shrieked

And his popping eyes fell back on the trio, missing my smirk. "You!" he screeched. "You three! You've murdered my cat! You've killed her. I'll kill you! I'll.."

"Argus!"

Dumbledore had arrived on the scene, followed by a number of other teachers. In seconds, he had swept past Longbottom, Weasley, Granger, and myself and detached Mrs. Norris from the torch bracket.

"Come with me, Argus," he said to Filch. "You, too, Mr. Potter, Mr. Longbottom, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger."

Lockhart stepped forward eagerly.

"My office is nearest, Headmaster...just upstairs. Please feel free.." Perfect! Lockhart was here. He would have no choice but to cover for me.

"Thank you, Gilderoy," said Dumbledore.

The silent crowd parted to let us pass. Lockhart, looking excited and important, hurried after Dumbledore; so did Professors McGonagall, Snape, and Sprout.

* * *

As we entered Lockhart's darkened office there was a flurry of movement across the walls; I smirked as I saw several of the Lockhart's in the pictures once against dodging out of sight, their hair in rollers. The real Lockhart lit the candles on his desk and stood back. Dumbledore lay Mrs. Norris on the polished surface and began to examine her. The trio exchanged tense looks, as I ignored them, and they sank into the chairs outside the pool of candlelight, watching.

The tip of Dumbledore's long, crooked nose was barely an inch from Mrs. Norris's fur. He was looking at her closely through his half-moon spectacles, his long fingers gently prodding and poking. Professor McGonagall was bent almost as close, her eyes narrowed. Snape loomed behind them, half in shadow, wearing a most peculiar expression. It was as though he was trying hard not to smile. Sprout was standing off to the side looking worried and Lockhart was hovering around all of them, making suggestions.

'Nervous?' Violet asked curiously.

'Nope.' I said popping the P. 'Me being the first on the scene was wiped from their minds, and it is locked solidly in mine. Not much they can pin on me for this one.'

'That and Lockhart will have no choice but to back you up.' she giggled.

'If he knows what is good for him.' I smirked.

"It was definitely a curse that killed her...probably the Transmogrifian Torture. I've seen it used many times, so unlucky I wasn't there, I know the very countercurse that would have saved her!"

'Only place he has seen that curse is in his dreams!' Violet laughed.

'Sometimes I wonder just where the hell he comes up with this crap!' I chuckled. 'Perhaps I should give him some pointers if he pulls through for me on this.'

'Yeah, like how to just keep his mouth shut.' Violet smirked victoriously.

Lockhart's comments were punctuated by Filch's dry, racking sobs. He was slumped in a chair by the desk, unable to look at Mrs. Norris, his face in his hands. As much as I detested Filch, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He was a right pain in the arse, but anyone could tell that Mrs. Norris had been the most important thing in the world to him, and I couldn't imaging having something similar happen to Violet.

Dumbledore was now muttering strange words under his breath and tapping Mrs. Norris with his wand but nothing happened. She continued to look as though she had been recently stuffed.

"...I remember something very similar happening in Ouagadogou," said Lockhart, "a series of attacks, the full story's in my autobiography, I was able to provide the townsfolk with various amulets, which cleared the matter up at once..."

I couldn't help but stare at him incredulously as the photographs of Lockhart on the walls were all nodding in agreement as he talked. Although, one of them had forgotten to remove his hairnet.

'Wow...' I said incredulously. 'He continues to reach heights I never thought possible.'

'It really is a talent all on its own, isn't it.' Violet replied half incredulously and half admiring.

At last Dumbledore straightened up.

"She's not dead, Argus," he said softly.

Lockhart stopped abruptly in the middle of counting the number of murders he had prevented.

"Not dead?" choked Filch, looking through his fingers at Mrs. Norris. "but why's she all...all stiff and frozen?"

"She has been Petrified," said Dumbledore ("Ah! I thought so!" said Lockhart). "But how, I cannot say..."

"Ask them!" shrieked Filch, turning his blotched and tear-stained face towards the trio. "They were caught at the scene by him!" he added pointing towards me.

"No second years could have done this," said Dumbledore firmly. "it would take Dark Magic of the most advanced.."

"They did it, they did it!" Filch spat, his pouchy face purpling. "You saw what they wrote on the wall!"

"We never touched Mrs. Norris!" Longbottom said loudly, uncomfortably aware of everyone looking at them, including all the Lockharts on the walls. "It was Potter! It had to be!"

"Rubbish, Longbottom." I snorted. "I caught you three red-handed at the scene."

"If I might speak, Headmaster," said Snape from the shadows, my sense of foreboding increasing at the look Snape was giving me. I knew Snape hated both Longbottom and I, but Snape always seemed to hate me just a tad more it seemed.

"Longbottom and his friends may have been found at the scene, but they were also found in the Great Hall for the feast tonight." he said, a slight sneer curling his mouth. "but we do have a set of suspicious circumstances here. Potter on the other hand, wasn't at the Halloween feast. What could he have possibly been doing down this corridor at all?"

"That would be because I was practicing my Charms work in Professor Lockhart's office." I said giving Lockhart a pointed look that promised retribution if he didn't confirm my story. "I didn't want to join the festivities and he agreed to allow me to use his room."

"This office is an entire floor above where the cat was found Potter." Snape sneered as I felt a small Legilimency probe try to enter my mind before I ruthlessly shoeved it towards a false memory of Snape being molested by Fluffy. I probably should have just led it to a believable memory, but Snape always found a way to piss me off and get under my skin.

"And both of these locations are a few floors above where I sleep...Professor!" I glared at him. "Surely you haven't forgotten the location of the Dungeons? You do after all live there yourself."

"Manors, Mr. Potter!" Dumbledore chided sternly. "Gilderoy, can you confirm Mr. Potter's claim?"

"Ye...yes, of course!" Lockhart only slightly stammered. "Mr. Potter is an exemplary student and I felt it my duty to do my best to help further along his education!"

"I suggest, Headmaster, that both Mr. Longbottom and Mr. Potter are not being entirely truthful," he said. "It might be a good idea if they were all deprived of certain privileges until they are ready to tell us the whole story."

Dumbledore was giving the four of us a searching look. His twinkling light-blue gaze made me feel as though I were being X-rayed, but I felt no Legilimency attack.

"Innocent until proven guilty, Severus." he said firmly.

Snape look furious. So did Filch.

"My cat has been Petrified!" he shrieked, his eyes popping. "I want to see some punishment!"

"We will be able to cure her, Argus." said Dumbledore patiently. "Professor Sprout recently managed to procure some Mandrakes. As soon as they have reached their full size, I will have a potion made that will revive Mrs. Norris." he added, Professor Sprout nodding along with him.

"I'll make it," Lockhart butted in. "I must have done it a hundred times. I could whip up a Mandrake Restorative Draught in my sleep!"

'Well, there goes Mrs. Norris.' Violet laughed, and I couldn't help but agree if Lockhart was going to be doing it.

"Excuse me!" said Snape icily. "But I believe I am the Potions master at this school!"

There was a very awkward pause.

"You four may go." Dumbledore said to the trio and myself.

I wasted no time in leaving the classroom. Thankfully the trio had to head up and I didn't have to worry about them accosting me.

'What do you think about it all?' Violet asked me nervously once we had made it back to the dungeons.

'I think there is something seriously dangerous loose inside of Hogwarts.' I told her worriedly. 'And it is obviously not human. No human could move through the castle the way it did, and there are no ghosts, spectres, or spirits capable of Petrifying anyone like that.'

'So an animal of some sort?' Violet asked. 'It would be pretty hard for one of them to move about the castle in that sort of manor as well.'

'I know...' I told her thoughtfully. 'I think for now we will have to look into this Chamber of Secrets, and see if we can't find a clue.'

'I guess that is the best course.' she replied. 'For now, I think we should get to the common room, just in case.'

'I agree.' I told her, making my way towards my bed quickly. 'I do know that we will be working heavily on training. Never know what we will have to defend ourselves against.'

* * *

"Hey, Harry!" Wayne greeted me as I sat down for breakfast.

"Wayne." I greeted. "How are you today?"

"I'm great!" he said enthusiastically. "I actually wanted to talk to you about that. You see I ended up making the team as a beater!"

"That's great, Wayne!" I congratulated him. "So when if your first game?"

"Wow, you really don't pay much attention to Quidditch do you?" he laughed. "The first game is today! So are you going to come? Please!"

"Fine, fine...I'll go." I laughed. "Just don't wet yourself before breakfast is over."

"Very funny, Harry." Wayne shook his head. "Listen, the team has to meet down at the field at ten, but the game starts at eleven. I will look for you in the stands."

"Sounds good. I hope you guys win." I said before smiling. "Who is it your playing again?"

"Merlin, Harry. You really don't care for Quidditch much do you?" Wayne asked rhetorically. "We play Gryffindor. I hope we get to beat Longbottom, he has been running around all week talking about how bad Hufflepuff is going to lose."

"Longbottom, eh?" I asked, interested now. "Make sure you aim a dozen or so bludgers at him for me then."

"Will do, Harry." Wayne laughed. "I gotta go, Cedric wants the team to eat together before the match."

"Alright, Wayne. I will see you on the field."

As eleven o'clock approached, the whole school started to make its way down to the Quidditch stadium. It was a muggy sort of day with a hint of thunder in the air. I wished Wayne luck before I headed for the stands while I waited for the game to begin.

As the teams walked out onto the pitch, a roar of noise greeted them; mainly cheers except for Slytherin, who were just wanting to see both teams get crushed. Madam Hooch, the Quidditch teacher, asked for Wood and Cedric to shake hands, which they did.

"On my whistle," said Madam Hooch. "Three...two...one..."

With a roar from the crowd to speed them upward, the fourteen players rose toward the leaden sky. I ignored most of the players, choosing to turn my focus towards Wayne. I was worried at first that perhaps Wayne wasn't that great of a beater. It seemed as if he wasn't hitting the bludger on target, when the thing was in range that is. That was until I realized that it was because they were effectively only playing with one bludger.

The other heavy, black metal ball was occupied with marking Longbottom wherever he went on the pitch. It was comical to watch one of the Weasley twins smash the bludger away, only for it to come swerving back at Longbottom again and again.

Once again, the Bludger swerved like a boomerang and shot at Longbottom's head.

'If this is what these games are going to be like, we should come more often.' I cheered to Violet as I watched Longbottom put on a burst of speed and zoom towards the other end of the pitch.

'I must admit, it is nice to see that smug smile off of his face for a change.' Violet grinned.

At the other end of the pitch, one of the Weasley's were waiting for the bludger. Just as Longbottom ducked, Weasley swung at the Bludger with all his might; the Bludger looked to be knocked off course. Weasley could even be heard celebrating that very fact...that was until the Bludger once more turned course and set its sights on Longbottom again, who was forced to take off at top speed.

It had just started to rain and I made sure to cast an Imperturbable Charm over my robes to keep me dry, along with a mild warming charm. The noise from the rain was starting to make it difficult to hear the commentary, all I knew was that Hufflepuff were leading by thirty points.

Meanwhile, the rogue Bludger was doing all it could to knock Longbottom out of the air. The Weasley twins were now flying so close to him on either side that I doubted he could see anything at all except for their flailing arms. He wouldn't have any chance of even looking for the snitch, let along finding it.

The twins signaled to Wood for a time out and the fourteen players all made their way back to the ground after Hooch blew her whistle. After a minute or so they were once more back in the air at it again.

The rain was falling more heavily now. Longbottom had the Bludger hot on his tail as soon as he left the ground. Higher and higher he climbed; he looped and swooped, spiraled and zigzagged.

He had to have heard the laughter coming from the crowd; he did look pretty stupid. He began a kind of roller-coaster ride around the edges of the stadium to try and lose it. Cedric stopped and asked Longbottom something. In that split second that he went to answer, it was all that it took for the stadium was filled with a sickening sound.

WHAM!

Longbottom had stayed still a second too long. The Bludger had hit him at last, smashing into his elbow. I could easily tell from the sound that the bones in it hadn't survived the hit. Longbottoms distraction had also alerted Cedric to the presence of the snitch. By the time Longbottom had fell the almost twenty feet to the mud below, Cedric had already caught the snitch and won the game for Hufflepuff 250-70.

'I bet that fall hurt.' Violet giggled as the Gryff's all went to their fallen teammate.

'Yeah, but not as bad as that elbow.' I chuckled. It was about time Longbottom had to suffer a bit. He made me suffer constantly with his incessant watching.

'Oh look!' Violet squealed. 'There goes Lockhart to give him a hand. He is bound to do more harm than good!'

'Let's hurry down there and see if we can't catch a bit of the show.' I chuckled as I set off quickly for the pitch.

I managed to make it down just in time to hear Longbottom moan out, "Oh, no, not you!"

"Doesn't know what he's saying!" Lockhart proclaimed loudly to the anxious crowd of Gryffindors pressing around us. "Not to worry, Mr. Longbottom. I'm about to fix your arm."

"No!" said Longbottom. "I'll keep it like this, thanks..."

He tried to sit up, but the pain was terrible. I could hear a familiar clicking noise and turned to spot some short Gryffindor snapping photos of Longbottom.

"I don't want a photo of this, Colin!" Longbottom said loudly.

"Lie back, Mr. Longbottom." Lockhart said soothingly. "It's a simple charm I've used countless times."

'Probably because you can't count a number that doesn't exist.' Violet giggled causing me to smirk at the situation.

"Why can't I just go to the hospital wing?" Longbottom ground out through clenched teeth.

"He should really, Professor." said a muddy Wood, who couldn't stop scowling, probably more to the fact they lost than the fact that his seeker was hurt.

"Stand back!" said Lockhart, who was rolling up his jade-green sleeves.

"No...don't..." Longbottom said weakly, but Lockhart was twirling his wand a second later had directed it straight at Longbottom's arm.

It was a strange sight to behold as Longbottom's arm appeared as if it had been deflated. It appeared as if Lockhart had somehow managed to vanish all of the bones in Longbottom's arm. I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped as I heard the rapid clicking coming from the kid, Colin's, camera.

"Ah," said Lockhart. "Yes. Well, that can sometimes happen. But the point is, the bones are clearly no longer broken. That's the thing to bear in mind. So, Mr. Longbottom, just toddle on up to the hospital wing... ah, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, would you escort him?...and Madam Pomfrey will be able to...er...tidy you up a bit."

Weasley and Granger helped Longbottom up to his feet and immediately set off for the hospital wing.

'Well, that was entertaining!' Violet beamed. 'I doubt anything today will top that.'

'I wouldn't be so sure.' I grinned.

'Oh?' she asked.

'Oh, yes.' I smiled. 'Longbottom is going to have to have those bones regrown.'

'I'm not following you?' Violet replied.

'Well, that means he will have to stay in the hospital wing...overnight!' I told her excitedly. 'The doors are never locked in case of emergencies and that means that there will be nothing to keep me from Longbottom.'

'What are you going to do?' Violet asked excitedly.

'I think it is about time I tried out some memory modification.' I told her. 'I'm going to implant a subtle thought into his mind to ignore me. Hopefully I can get him and his two goons to lay off for a while.'

'Perfect.' Violet cackled. 'We should probably get a few hours rest before tonight then. Don't want to be tired while trying to work around in Longbottom's head.'

* * *

'You ready to go, Harry?' Violet asked quietly as I slid out of my bed. It was a few hours past curfew and the rest of the dorm was asleep.

Quickly and silently, I slipped on my invisibility cloak. 'I am now, let's go!'

With the Marauder's Map in hand, I quickly made my way towards the hospital wing. The door was shut but still unlocked. I quickly cast a silencing charm on it before quickly opening the door just enough for me to slip in before closing it again. I quickly spotted Longbottom, but as I started my way over too him, his eyes suddenly shot open. I had almost thought he had somehow sensed me...until I saw what was on the other side of the bed from him.

"Get off!" Longbottom hissed loudly, and then, "Dobby!"

The house-elf's goggling tennis ball eyes were peering at him through the darkness. A single tear was running down his long, pointed nose.

"Neville Longbottom came back to school," the elf whispered miserably. "Dobby warned and warned Neville Longbottom. Ah sir, why didn't you heed Dobby? Why didn't Neville Longbottom go back home when the barrier wouldn't let him in?"

Longbottom heaved himself up on his pillows and pushed Dobby's sponge away.

"What're you doing here?" he said. "And how did you know the barrier wouldn't let me enter?"

Dobby's lip trembled and realization finally came to Longbottom's face.

"It was you!" he said slowly. "You stopped that barrier from letting us through!"

"Indeed yes, sir," said Dobby, nodding his head vigorously, ears flapping. "Dobby hid and watched for Neville Longbottom and sealed the gateway and Dobby had to iron his hands afterward." I could just make out the bandaged hands that he was showing Longbottom in the faint light. "But Dobby didn't care, sir, for he thought Neville Longbottom would be safe!"

He was rocking backward and forward, shaking his ugly head.

"Dobby was so shocked when he heard Neville Longbottom was still at Hogwarts, he let his master's dinner burn! Such a flogging Dobby never had, sir..."

Longbottom slumped back onto his pillows.

"You'd better get lost before my bones come back, Dobby, or I might strangle you!" he said fiercely.

"Dobby is used to death threats, sir. Dobby gets them five times a day at home."

He blew his nose on a corner of the filthy pillowcase he wore, looking so pathetic that Longbottom's anger ebbed away in spite of himself.

"Why d'you wear such a filthy thing, Dobby?" he asked curiously.

"This, sir?" said Dobby, plucking at the pillowcase. "Tis a mark of the house-elf's enslavement, sir. Dobby can only wear what his master presents him with, and may only be freed when presented with clothes. The family is careful not to pass Dobby even a sock, sir, for then he would be free to leave their house forever."

'I wonder who his family is?' Violet asked curiously. 'Most families treat even their servants better than this. He looks utterly pathetic!'

'Malfoy.' I drawled after a quick and almost silent Legilimency probe. 'Figures they would treat a house-elf this way...they don't treat most human's any better.'

Dobby was still mopping his bulging eyes and said suddenly, "Neville Longbottom must go home! Dobby thought his Bludger would be enough to make..."

"Your Bludger?" Longbottom ground out heatedly. I was barely able to hold in a snort of laughter at the reminder of why he was in here in the first place. "What d'you mean, you Bludger? You made that Bludger try and kill me?"

"Now kill you, sir, never kill you!" said Dobby, shocked. "Dobby only wants to save Neville Longbottom's life! Better sent home, grievously injured, than remain here sir! Dobby only wanted Neville Longbottom hurt enough to be sent home!"

That got my attention! I was curious just what this little elf knew about the danger that was just starting to build here at Hogwarts. Once again, and as silent as I could, I hit the little elf with another probe. Unfortunately, Dobby didn't know all of the details of what was going on. All that he knew was that Lucius Malfoy had given someone a cursed diary that was meant to open the chamber of secrets for the second time. Other than the other time being fifty years ago, the elf either didn't know more, or I was simply not able to find it.

"Oh, is that all?" said Longbottom angrily, not catching the seriousness of what was going on inside of the castle. "I don't suppose you're going to tell me why you wanted me sent home in pieces?"

"Ah, if Neville Longbottom only knew!" Dobby groaned.

'Oh, but we do!' I smirked to Violet.

"If he knew what he means to us, to the lowly, the enslaved, we dregs of the magical world! Dobby remembers how it was when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was at the height of his powers, sir! We house-elfs were treated like vermin, sir! Of course, Dobby is still treated like that, sir." Dobby admitted, drying his face on his pillowcase. "But mostly, sir, life has improved for my kind since you triumphed over He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Neville Longbottom survived, and the Dark Lord's power was broken, and it was a new dawn sir, and Neville Longbottom shone like a beacon of hope for those of us who thought the Dark days would never end, sir...and now, at Hogwarts, terrible things are to happen, are perhaps happening already, and Dobby cannot let Neville Longbottom stay here now that history is to repeat itself, now that the Chamber of Secrets is open once more."

Dobby froze, horrorstruck, then grabbed Longbottom's water jug from his bedside table and cracked it over his own head, toppling out of sight. A second later, he crawled back onto the bed, cross-eyed, muttering, "Bad Dobby, very bad Dobby. . ."

"So there is a Chamber of Secrets?" Longbottom whispered. "And did you say it's been opened before? Tell me, Dobby!"

He seized the elf's bony wrist as Dobby's hand inched toward the water jug. "But I'm not Muggle-born - how can I be in danger from the Chamber?"

"Ah, sir, ask no more, ask no more of poor Dobby," stammered the elf, his eyes huge in the dark. "Dark deeds are planned in this place, but Neville Longbottom must not be here when they happen - go home, Neville Longbottom, go home. Neville Longbottom must not meddle in this, sir, 'tis too dangerous -"

"Who is it, Dobby?" Longbottom said, keeping a firm hold on Dobby's wrist to stop him from hitting himself with the water jug again. "Who's opened it? Who opened it last time?"

"Dobby can't, sir, Dobby can't, Dobby mustn't tell!" squealed the elf. "Go home, Neville Longbottom, go home!"

'He may not be able to say,' I told Violet. 'But he can't protect that secret from his mind. However, I find it hard to believe that Hagrid really did it. There is no way Dumbledore would have kept him here if he had.'

"I'm not going anywhere!" said Longbottom fiercely. "One of my best friends is Muggle-born; she'll be first in line if the Chamber really has been opened -"

"Neville Longbottom risks his own life for his friends!" moaned Dobby in a kind of miserable ecstasy. "So noble! So valiant! But he must save himself, he must, Neville Longbottom must not -"

Dobby suddenly froze, his bat ears quivering. I had heard it, too. There were footsteps coming down the passageway outside.

"Dobby must go!" breathed the elf, terrified. There was a loud crack, and Longbottom's fist was suddenly clenched on thin air. He slumped back into bed, his eyes on the dark doorway to the hospital wing as the footsteps drew nearer. I moved off to the side of the room where I could still listen in but be out of the way.

Next moment, Dumbledore was backing into the dormitory, wearing a long woolly dressing gown and a nightcap. He was carrying one end of what looked like a statue. Professor McGonagall appeared a second later, carrying its feet. Together, they heaved it onto a bed.

"Get Madam Pomfrey," whispered Dumbledore, and Professor McGonagall hurried past the end of Longbottom's bed out of sight. Longbottom lay quite still, pretending to be asleep while I crept as close as I dared. I heard urgent voices, and then Professor McGonagall swept back into view, closely followed by Madam Pomfrey, who was pulling a cardigan on over her nightdress. He heard a sharp intake of breath.

"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey whispered to Dumbledore, bending over the statue on the bed.

"Another attack," said Dumbledore. "Minerva found him on the stairs.

"There was a bunch of grapes next to him," said Professor McGonagall. "We think he was trying to sneak up here to visit Longbottom."

Slowly and carefully, I crept a few inches closer so I could look at the statue on the bed. A ray of moonlight lay across its staring face. It was Colin Creevey, the annoying little Gryff with the camera. His eyes were wide and his hands were stuck up in front of him, holding his camera.

"Petrified?" whispered Madam Pomfrey.

"Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "But I shudder to think ... If Albus hadn't been on the way downstairs for hot chocolate - who knows what might have -"

The three of them stared down at Colin. Then Dumbledore leaned forward and wrenched the camera out of Colin's rigid grip.

"You don't think he managed to get a picture of his attacker?" said Professor McGonagall eagerly.

Dumbledore didn't answer. He opened the back of the camera.

"Good gracious!" said Madam Pomfrey.

A jet of steam had hissed out of the camera. I caught the acrid smell of burnt plastic.

"Melted," said Madam Pomfrey wonderingly. "All melted..."

"What does this mean, Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked urgently.

"It means," said Dumbledore, "that the Chamber of Secrets is indeed open again."

Madam Pomfrey clapped a hand to her mouth. Professor McGonagall stared at Dumbledore. "But, Albus ... surely ... who?"

"The question is not who," said Dumbledore, his eyes on Colin. "The question is, how..." And from what I could see of Professor McGonagall's shadowy face, she didn't understand this any better than he did.

The adults dispersed quickly after that, but I still had something to do and remained behind. I may have found out a great deal of what was going on, but Longbottom was still a thorn in my ass and he had to be dealt with.

I had to wait for almost another half hour before he fell back asleep, but once he had I made my move. I knew I couldn't do anything too radical as Granger would likely catch onto something fishy. However, I would add a little thought to the back of his head that I wasn't any big deal, just another fly on the wall to him. I would have to leave his memories for now until I could get all three of them together and wipe them at once, but this way it will just seem as if he has lost interest in me...I hoped. It only took me a few moments before I was done.

'Let's get back to bed, Harry.' Violet told me once I had put away my wand. 'We have much to do tomorrow.'

'You're right.' I told her as I quietly began my trek back to the dungeons. 'Tomorrow we look into the Chamber of Secrets and see what we can find!'

* * *

**AN: So as you have noticed, there is a few things very similar here as to how it was in the books. The reason so is that some of the information I needed to put out there fit very well with those scenes and set me up nicely for other situations down the line. So far Lockhart and Creevey are running away with the voting, and it is looking as if Lockhart is going to win it, but it is still never to late to voice your opinions! As always I look forward to hearing and reading all of your reviews, comments, and messages! Thanks!**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: First I would like to address a concern I noticed from a reader who was against the idea that I seem to be giving Violet 'real gestures'. I would like to state that just because you can't see something, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Harry can still 'feel' Violet when she does things such as smirk, laugh, or blink. Even though she can only do these things mentally, Harry experiences every single one of these and his mind has learned to interpret these things as really happening over the years. So until someone can find a real life situation that has two people housing the same body, which I do very much doubt, I feel free to take the liberty that this is a plausible occurrence. =D**

* * *

"First meeting tonight." Daphne said while sitting at the library tables, working on homework. " I wouldn't mind more dueling lessons. They might come in handy one day."

"You seriously are going to go?" I asked her incredulously. "You already know that Lockhart is going to be heading it up…he told us so! Remember?"

* * *

"_Ah, Mr. Potter, Miss Greengrass! Come in, come on!" Lockhart greeted the pair of us. _

"_Professor." I nodded cordially. "I believe you wanted to see us?"_

"_Yes, yes, of course." Lockhart beamed. "I was hoping to gain a bit of favor from the pair of you actually. After all, I was more than fair in my backing of your little story the other night on Halloween."_

"_You were, and I was very grateful for it as well." I admitted. "Just what did you have in mind for this...favor?"_

"_Yes, well...with these recent attacks I thought it would be prudent to start a little dueling club so as to help the students defend themselves." Lockhart smiled. "I had hoped the pair of you would join."_

"_I don't really see what you would gain from us attending?" Daphne asked. "What is so important about us being there?"_

"_Your grades are among the best in my class!" Lockhart stated. While it was true we would have already had extremely high marks in almost any class, Lockhart had been eager to keep our favor and had practically given us perfect grades in everything we did in his class. Of course this didn't make Granger too pleased, but it had become common knowledge that we were the best seconds years in his class. "I do believe that the other students will find my Dueling Club more prudent if they see two of our top students also attending."_

"_What exactly do you have planned for this little club of yours?" I asked, wanting to see if it would be a complete waste of my time or not._

"_Come, now! I don't want to spoil the surprise!" Lockhart practically cheered. "I will say that I have it all planned out, and I even have enlisted the aid of a fairly competent duelist to join me!"_

"_We...will think about it." I told him after a shared look with Daphne. "When will you need your answer by?"_

"_The Dueling Club will host it's first meeting the night before students return home for the holidays." Lockhart answered. "The students will have to have parental permission to join any clubs that involve dueling so we are giving them a free demonstration before they leave for the winter so they have an idea of what to expect."_

"_If I could offer some advice?" Daphne spoke up._

"_Certainly." Lockhart beamed._

"_Keep it simple." she said flatly. "Don't take too much offense to this, but things don't always seem to go as planned when you do...well pretty much everything. The simpler you can keep it the more likely you will be of not making a fool of yourself."_

"_Never fear, Miss Greengrass!" Lockhart strutted, completely ignoring, what I thought, was some pretty good advice as far as he was concerned. "As I said before, I already have everything planned out...except for your attendance of course."_

"_I will be there." Daphne smirked, shaking her head at his complete lack of regard for her advice. It was obvious that she thought that it would likely be entertaining if he kept it as he had 'planned'. "I will try to talk Harry into it as well."_

"_Excellent!" Lockhart beamed. "Well, I have much to do, so I shall see the two of you later. Good day!"_

* * *

"Of course I remember!" Daphne hissed. "Snape told the Slytherin's just this morning that he was going to be Lockhart's 'assistant.' There is no way that Snape won't be out for blood."

'She has a point.' Violet told me. 'It would be fun to watch…just too bad it won't be Snape getting his arse handed to him.'

"I guess…" I sighed. "I better not regret this, Daph, or it will be your fault!"

"Whatever, Potter." Daphne grinned, happy that she made me cave in to her demands…One day I will figure out how the hell she and Violet do that. "Let's just hurry and finish our homework so we can get a good spot tonight!"

"Gather round, gather round! Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent…Now, professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little dueling club, to train you all in case you ever need to defend yourselves, as I myself have done on countless occasions.

"Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape," said Lockhart, flashing a wide smile. "He tells me he knows a tiny little bit about dueling himself and has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we begin! Now, I don't want any of you youngsters to worry…you'll still have your Potions master when I'm through with him, never fear!"

"Wouldn't it be good if they both finish each other off?" I could hear Weasley whisper to Longbottom off to the side just as Lockhart and Snape began their practice 'duel', if you could call it that. Lockhart started to pompously wave his wand around as Snape kept it quick and simple and blasted him off his feet with a Disarming Spell.

'Well that was hard to watch.' I told to Violet a few minutes later. Snape had pretty much handed Lockhart his arse quicker than Weasley makes food disappear.

'He had to have known that was going to happen…didn't he?' she asked, confused as to why Lockhart seemed to overlook the fact that he is obviously incompetent at…well mostly everything.

"Well, there you have it!" Lockhart said, tottering back onto the platform, picking his wand up as he went. "The Disarming Spell. Of course, if I had wanted to counter it, it would have been only too easy…"

"Perhaps it would be prudent to teach the students how to defend themselves." Snape drawled. It was hard to tell if he was extremely excited to have blasted Lockhart off of the platform, or a bit upset that he didn't get to cast more than one simple spell.

"Correct you are Professor Snape!" Lockhart beamed, seemingly taking no notice of Snape's 'I want nothing more than to murder you' tone. "Let's all divide up into pairs shall we, and we will start with trying to disarm your opponent…only disarming them!" he warned. "We don't want any accidents now do we?"

The people started pairing off, and grudgingly I decided to participate. At least Daphne had some semblance of training when it came to dueling. She had yet to beat me, but it was going to be harder than any of the other second years would provide. There were people from other years hear as well…well at least the ones who hadn't left as soon as they saw it was Lockhart instructing. A few had stayed, perhaps if only to see Snape trounce him, but a significant portion of the fifth years and up hadn't stayed.

"You ready for a beating Potter?" Daphne teased me as we stood opposite each other in a dueling stance.

"Of course!" I smirked. "My first spell will be Aguamenti so I can wake you up from whatever dream it is that has you believing you are going to be me."

"Don't think I haven't been practicing on my own time, Potter!" she grinned at me. "It is only a matter of time before I finally beat you."

"It's possible…but I think Lockhart has a better chance of defeating Dumbledore in a duel." I chided.

"That's low…" Daphne frowned playfully. "You seriously can't think I am less of a challenge than him?"

"If you can land a hit on me, I will tell you what I really think." I teased. "Looks like you won't be finding out that secret for a while though." I grinned at her as she stuck her tongue out at me.

"Now that we are all partnered up," Lockhart began, interrupting our playful banter. We had taking to riling the other up when we had practiced together to give the other motivation to do their best. "I want the partner on the left side of the room to cast only the Disarming Spell. Those on the right, only shield spells if you know them…if not then I suggest dodging. Remember now children, dodging does not mean diving. An opponent laying on the ground is soon to be a defeated opponent in most cases."

I almost dropped my wand in shock. 'Did Lockhart actually just know something useful or am I imagining things?'

'I'm not sure.' Violet replied. 'I am still trying to figure out if we aren't actually just dreaming and this isn't real.'

"Hey Daph…" I tried. "We aren't dreaming right? Lockhart actually said that, right?"

"Yes, I believe he did." Daphne chuckled at me, obviously finding my facial expression funny. "Even a broken clock is right twice a day though."

"Good point." I said nodding my head and turning my attention back to Daphne as our duel was fixing to start.

"Now, when I count to three I want you all to begin." Lockhart continued. "And remember, if I see any spells in the air that are not meant to disarm your opponent you shall be serving detention with me tomorrow night. 1…2…3!"

"Expelliarmus!" Daphne fired as I called out "Protego!"

Her spell collided with my shield, causing it to ripple slightly before her spell dispersed.

I smirked at her. "Come on Daph, you will have to try harder than that! That one didn't even have much power in it!"

"Don't worry Potter, I am just warming up!" she declared before firing off three more Disarming Spells at me in a row. The three spells hit my shield in relatively quick succession and indeed were much more powerful. However, my shield merely flared brightly and rippled for a second but held strong. It had taken her nearly twice as much over the summer before she would break my shield down enough to collapse it…that was summer though.

Of course, she didn't know it, but the few small rituals I had performed already had given my body more stamina when it came to channeling magic through it. Before it was like a novice runner joining a marathon verses a trained runner entering the same race. The novice will only be able to run for so long and my body before could only channel so much magic before it became exhausted. The experienced runner can run much longer.

"You might want to warm up a bit more, Daph." I teased. "Although, at least I could feel it this time."

Daphne narrowed her eyes at me, but just before she could return fire once more, Lockhart called an end to the round. All around me I could see the chaos that usually results from turning a bunch of young magical children loose with their wands.

Longbottom was hovering over a downed Weasley, trying not to laugh at the multitude of pimples that had managed to sprout up on his face. Somehow Malfoy had Granger's wand in his hand. It wasn't his dueling skills I doubted, just how the hell those two ended up being partners. Overall, the room looked like a disaster zone. Finnigan's opponent was sporting scorch marks on his robes, Parkinson's hair was smoking slightly as a smirking Lilith Moon stood next to her.

"An admirable first attempt." Lockhart began talking. "Perhaps something on a bit smaller of a scale, however. Let us have a couple of volunteers...I'll choose Mr. Longbottom as my champion." Lockhart said out loud, receiving an approving nod from me as he glanced my way momentarily. "And who would you like to choose Professor Snape?"

"Malfoy, up here if you would." Snape drawled lowly with a slight smirk on his face. He apparently had a plan to humiliate Longbottom as he whispered something in Malfoy's ear on his way to the stage.

"This should be entertaining." Daphne smirked. "Come on, let's get a closer view." She grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the edge of the stage, very near the center of the platform.

'Not sure who I want to root for here.' Violet mused.

'I just hope Longbottom tries out whatever spell it was Lockhart just tried to teach him.' I mentally chuckled as Lockhart picked up his wand from the floor, having dropped it while showing Longbottom some weird wand motion.

"I have a galleon on Malfoy" I whispered in Daphne's ear.

"No fair!" Daphne complained. "However unfortunate it is, he is still in my house so I should receive first rights to bet on him."

"Pffft…well I'm not taking Longbottom, that is for sure." I told her. He had been too big of a pain in my backside and I wouldn't accept all of the gold in the world if it came because of him…that didn't mean Violet wouldn't take it of course…I just wasn't going too.

"Duelists ready?" Lockhart began. "On my mark. 3…2…1." With a small bang from the end of his wand the duel began.

Malfoy seemed to have at least some private training in dueling and was decently quick…not faster than I was currently, but quicker than most. He shot out a Knockback Jinx that sent Longbottom sailing to his backside about four feet away.

Longbottom was quick to his feet however, and quickly fired a Flippendo at Malfoy who caught it with his face and almost did a complete back flip as he landed hard on his stomach. Snape didn't appear to be too pleased about it as he roughly wrenched Malfoy to his feet before giving him a light shove forward towards the fight.

Agitated, and highly embarrassed, Malfoy thrust his wand forward before shouting, unnecessarily, a snake summoning charm. I raised an eyebrow at his choice of serpent as I could recognize this one as poisonous by its triangular shaped head. Snape must have also noticed it as he stepped forward to banish the snake.

"Allow me, Professor Snape!" Lockhart strolled forward pompously, his wand at the ready. "Alerte Ascendare!"

'Seriously!' I begged. 'Where does he get this crap?'

'No idea…' Violet drawled in an eerily close representation of Snape as the five foot long snake flew into the air and landed with a thud a few feet in front of Daphne and myself, hissing madly.

Suddenly without warning, the snake turned and struck directly at Daphne's face. Had it been before I had done a few rituals I wouldn't have had the speed to stop it. Even with the added speed to my reflexes, I just barely managed to snag the snake a couple inches behind its head, mere inches from Daphne's face.

{Not today you little bastard!} I told it stupidly, forgetting exactly where I was. The adrenaline that had shot through my body from almost having to watch one of my best and only friends take a venomous snakebite to the face had been enough to make me forget that I wasn't alone and that talking to a snake was exactly what I did NOT want to do when not alone.

* * *

It didn't take me more than a couple seconds to realize my mistake and I slowly looked up to see the entire room staring at me, wide-eyed and several were even afraid. Snape looked at me with slight curiosity as he vanished the still hissing snake from my hand, Longbottom with a triumphant mistrust, as if he had just figured something out that he had forgot that he had forgotten, Weasley like I had just told the world I was the next Voldemort, and Daphne was simply glaring at me…knowing her however, she was probably pissed I hadn't ever told her that I spoke Parseltongue. I knew she would more likely be more upset that she hadn't had an opportunity to study it, and perhaps learn how to do it, than be scared or think I was a budding dark lord.

'Harry…' Violet began warily. 'I think perhaps we should leave…as in like now!'

Just as I snapped to and was about to do exactly what she was saying, I felt the still glaring Daphne grab me by my sleeve and start to drag me from the hall. Daphne didn't say a single word for the entire time she was dragging me, seemingly randomly, through the halls and eventually the dungeons.

'I know I don't need to tell you how bad that was, so I won't.' Violet spoke up. 'What exactly are we going to do now? There is no way that all of your unexplained disappearances are going to just be overlooked now. People will be curious as to where you are going, and quite a few will more than likely try to figure it out.'

'I don't know!' I said, angry at myself for my moment of stupidity. 'We'll just have to…ugh…we will figure something out?'

'Harry?' Violet asked timidly after a few minutes of silence. 'You trust me right?'

'Of course I do, you know that.' I told her exasperatedly. 'Why do you ask?'

'I think I have a plan.' She began. 'You may or may not like it, but I don't think we are going to have any other option if you want any freedom after this to do your private studying.'

'I'm listening…' I told her warily. 'What do you have in mind?'

'Well, you see, here is what you are going to have to do…' Violet explained as Daphne seemed to finally make up her mind on where she was taking me. I was wary of her plan, but I did have to admit it sounded solid. I teetered on the edge of agreeing or not and had almost made up my mind by the time Daphne dragged me into an abandoned classroom and started throwing up silencing and locking charms, glaring dangerously at me the entire time.

"How could you hide something this big from me, Potter?" she growled out once she was satisfied with her job securing the room. "Do you not trust me or something? What, you think I will just toss you aside because you're the next 'dark lord' like some brain dead Gryffindor?"

"Relax, Daph." I tried to sooth her.

"Don't you 'Daph' me Potter!" she yelled, glaring daggers at me. "I'm pissed at you right now and you are not going to sweet talk your way out of this one, so I suggest you start explaining!"

"You know there aren't too many ways of telling someone, 'Oh, by the way, I happen to have a really awesome ability that everyone would claim makes me a dark lord', in a random conversation." I told her trying to lighten the mood. Apparently it did not work…

"You're lucky that you're supposed to be my friend, or I would have already hexed you to pieces!" she glared at me. "Any other awesome and huge secrets that you are hiding from me, Potter?"

"Actually…why yes there is!" I smiled brightly to her as I had solidly made up my mind to go with Violets plan.

"Good, because there better not…What..did..you..just..say..Potter?" Daphne growled out slowly at the end, her eyes narrowing so much, I almost thought she had fallen asleep.

"This secret is a quite a bit more important and I have no intentions on bandying it about." I told her more serious this time.

She must have noticed the shift in my attitude as she asked with much less venom. "Is this a secret you will ever tell me, or do I have wait in the dark for this one too?"

"I would like to tell you…" I began cautiously. "But in order for me to do so, I will have to cash in that favor you owe me, pay you off, or whatever else I need to do to get you to take the same precautionary measures your father did."

"You told father but not me?" Daphne asked, sounding half curious, half hurt.

"Occlumency, remember?" I asked. "It is why I would not do so without his Unbreakable Vow…" I trailed off at the end, hoping she would pick up my hint.

"And you want me to take one." she said with understanding dawning on her face, unsure of whether to be insulted, incredulous, or intrigued.

"Among other things…" I gave her a half grin.

"What other things, Potter?" she asked, glare returning full force. "Want me to tap dance on the Great Hall tables? Join a barbershop quartet with Filch, Hagrid, and Dumbledore? Maybe you want me to date Weasley so he can teach me proper eating techniques?"

I couldn't help but laugh at her response. "You came close on that last one." I told her with a smile.

"If you ever think in your wildest dreams that I will be dating Weasley, then you have another thing coming Potter!" she yelled, trying hard not to vomit at the very idea.

"Relax, Daph." I told her, trying hard to hold in any more laughing. "It's not Weasley I want you to date."

"Oh, not Weasley? That makes it all better then." She said with false cheer. "So who will be it be then? Longbottom? Malfoy? Oh, perhaps even Granger?"

"Me." I told her simply as she continued to name off names.

"What!" she squeaked, stopping her list just after naming off Hagrid and Dumbledore. "What do you mean you want me to date you?" her eyes wide with disbelief.

"There is a reason why I spend so much of my time off alone studying." I told her carefully. "I still need this time, and after my moment of stupidity, those moments are going to be extremely hard to find. Once word gets around that I am a Parselmouth, those people curious as to where I am all of the time, are not going to just be curious, but determined, and determined people usually have a way of finding out things others do not want them to know. The only way I will be able to get them off of my back is if I give them a plausible excuse for where I am…which would be having a girlfriend…"

Understanding finally kicked in as Daphne caught onto exactly what it was I was asking. "You are just looking for a pretend girlfriend then?" she asked, a flash of something crossing her face that could almost be disappointment, but it passed so fast i dismissed it.

"Yes." I told her. "If they think I am sneaking off to be with my girlfriend, most of them will back-off and a few diehards will be easier to handle than half of the school."

"So why me?" Daphne asked. "You could just use anyone? Surely the littlest Weasley would do it if you throw a bit of gold at her, or buy her some new robes."

"Because she isn't my second best friend…you are. Whoever does this will have to be with me while I am off studying or nobody will believe me. The only one that can do this that I trust enough to do so would be you."

"So if you trust me, then why do I need to give you a vow?" she asked curiously.

"I do trust you, Daph…" I told her seriously. "However, it is not only my secret that I am protecting, and Merlin himself could show up with all the answers I seek and I wouldn't take them without one-hundred percent assurance that my secret was safe."

"Not just yours…" she pondered. "Is this other person the reason why I am only your 'second best friend'?" she pouted, only half fake.

"Accept the deal and give me a vow and I will tell you everything." I told her.

Daphne sat pondering for a few minutes, staring at me as if trying to figure out the mystery of life. I knew deep down that the Slytherin in her wouldn't allow her to not accept. Even if they couldn't use it, a true Slytherin would always still dig for that juicy piece of blackmail against someone, not that Daphne would ever blackmail me of course, but you get what I'm saying. Finally after a few minutes she answered.

"Fine…I accept." She said resigned. "However, you owe me big time! And like five times!"

"Perfect!" I smiled. "Just give me your vow and I will tell you everything you want to know..."

* * *

"So you have another person named Violet…living inside of your head…and you want to give her a real life body?" Daphne asked after I finished my tale.

"In layman's terms, yeah." I told her, surprised that she didn't even doubt my story...well at least not to my face.

"So Violet is the reason I am only your 'second' best friend then?" she smiled widely. As a man, one of only twelve years old at that, I am neither versed nor qualified on the ways of the female brain. So while I merely took her smile at face value.

* * *

Violet, however, could tell instinctively that it was a smile that said, 'So I only have to compete against another girl for your affections? Jackpot!' It was also the same as how she had interpreted Daphne's earlier disappointment. Violet didn't say anything to Harry and instantly hide her discovery in her mind so he wouldn't find out.

'This is going to be so much fun!' Violet grinned to herself, making sure that Harry couldn't hear her. While if it had been any other girl, Violet would have torn her eyes from their sockets and incinerated their body. However, Violet knew that Daphne had real feelings for her Harry and actually cared about him. She knew that Harry would be very happy and in very good hands if he were to choose Daphne over herself and Harry was still her first priority, even over her own wants and desires.

While Violet really wanted to be with her Harry and take care of him, her first priority was still, and always would be, to have what was best for him and to make him happy so she would welcome the competition for him. Her Harry would be the winner in the end because she knew that the only way he would choose Daphne over her, would be if Daphne was making him extremely happy. Besides, she knew that even if Harry would somehow choose Daphne over her, he would never abandoned her. That much she would always know to be true.

'You seem awfully pleased about something. Care to share?' Harry asked her, bringing her out of her musings.

* * *

'Just thinking about how things are looking up for you is all.' She responded. 'We best head to bed before curfew. Besides people will undoubtedly be wondering where you are by now.'

"We should probably head to our dorms, Daph. Before they send a search party after me." I told Daphne, earning a nod.

"Hey, Potter." Daphne called just before she started to head for the door.

"Yeah?" I asked turning towards her.

"If you're going to sell this, you are going to have to do a thorough acting job." She said, before continuing with a large grin on her face. "Real boyfriends hold hands and kiss their girlfriends in public. You do want them to buy your story right?"

Daphne quickly reached up and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before heading quickly out the door, leaving me to stand rooted to the floor.

'Hahaha, game on girlfriend!' Violet cheered to herself as my eyes went wide. Thankfully I couldn't hear her or I may have actually petrified myself with confusion. 'This is going to be so much fun!'

'What the hell have I let you talk me into?' I asked Violet, finally snapping too.

'Oh, relax Harry! Your only twelve, you won't have to worry about sex becoming part of your boyfriend duties for another couple years still.' she laughed at me as my eyes threatened to leave my head.

'You two will be the death of me.' I mumbled as I made my way back to my dorms. I definitely could use a nice and long nights sleep.

* * *

**AN: I wanted this to be just a tad bit longer than it turned out, as it just barely made it past my chapter minimum that I set for myself, but I really liked where this one leaves off at, and it will give me a better jumping ground into the Christmas break. Also, this one took a bit longer to write than I had expected. First i injured my arm, pulling a muscle, and wasn't really able to write for a couple of days. Then, the scenes in this one took a bit of extra care, and I tried to do them justice. Hopefully you all enjoyed them. As always, I welcome any comments, PM's, and reviews from you guys. I do read them all, even if I don't respond to them, so let me know what you guys are thinking. Until next time...Enjoy!  
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**AN: Edited June 7, 2014. Fixed a few mistakes, and added a line break towards the end to separate a scene that is NOT from Harry's POV. Without the line breaks it just ended up appearing like a break down in first person, so I have went back and re-worked it.**


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